Retired Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, the former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said any reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea will impact America’s ability to respond in the region.
Winnefeld made his comments in a Wednesday interview on "CBS This Morning."
"President Trump may want to bring some of these folks home," he said. "It will impact our ability to respond in the region, but those troops are really focused on the Korean peninsula."
He noted some of those troops could be stationed in other areas of the region.
Winnefeld said he was "cautiously optimistic" about relations with North Korea now that the summit is over.
"I think this was a pretty good start to a good future," he said. "The question now is what comes next?
And he said he saw no problem in Trump’s decision to halt joint military training exercises with South Korea. He maintained the exercises could be easily resumed at any time should Trump approval.
"It’s a big deal to trade something like this, but it’s also very reversible."
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had noted right before the summit that a reduction of troops was not on the table for negotiations, according to the Washington Examiner.
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