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US special representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun.

US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, who also serves as the US’ special representative for North Korea, said on July 22 that US forces stationed in South Korea advance American national security interests.

Biegun addressed recent US media reports that have dealt with a possible reduction of US Forces Korea (USFK) during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

“The US alliance on the Korean Peninsula plays an incredibly important role in anchoring our strategic interests in the region, not only in relation to North Korea, but also potentially in relation to the challenges that can emanate from the People's Republic of China,” Biegun said, adding that US Secretary of State Mark Esper had been “quite emphatic [the previous day] that he has made no recommendation to the president, nor presented no particular proposal to reduce troops.”

Biegun said that the current tasks facing the alliance are the need to “settle the issue of burden-sharing and how we fund the alliance, and then have also at the same time a strategic discussion to create a sustainable footing for that alliance for the next 75 years.”

“If we were able to do so, I think a substantial presence in that region would strongly advance America's security interests in East Asia,” Biegun added. His remarks underline the importance of USFK while also hinting that the US wants South Korea to take on a larger share of the defense cost.

Biegun went on to say that North Korea could be an area of continuing cooperation between the US and China, explaining that North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs damaged both countries’ shared strategic interest in peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

While Biegun acknowledged that China had reduced trade with North Korea and had worked to urge North Korea to join dialogue with the US, he said there’s much more that China can do to implement enforceable sanctions and ensure that North Korea doesn’t evade them. Biegun said the US would continue to engage with China on those issues.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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