US hints at easing 'heavy concentration' of troops in Northeast Asia
In this file photo taken on March 28, U.S. President Donald Trump, with Defense Secretary Mark Esper, speaks during the departure ceremony for the hospital ship USNS Comfort at Naval Base Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia. AFP-YonhapBy Do Je-hae A ranking U.S. official has hinted at the need for a realignment of U.S. troops in Northeast Asia to ensure that the U.S. has the “right forces in the right places,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).Concerns are that it may signal a possible reduction in the United States Forces Korea (USFK), which U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened as he pushes for Korea to pay more for the stationing of troops here.“We are heavily concentrated in Northeast Asia,” David Helvey, acting assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs, said, according to a report by the DOD, Monday. “Some of these troops' placements are legacies of World War II.”“We'd like to be able to make our presence more geographically distributed, more operationally resilient,” he said. “Maybe the future is
