Seoul: South Korea and the United States are not discussing drawing down the 28,500-strong U.S. forces stationed in Korea, a Seoul defense ministry official said Thursday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration is weighing a possible reduction of American troops in Germany.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Trump stated in a social media post that the U.S. is "studying and reviewing" the potential reduction of troops in Germany, with a decision possibly to be made "over the next short period of time." This statement came in the wake of a report by the Wall Street Journal suggesting that Washington is considering punitive measures against some North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies for declining his requests for naval assistance to secure the Strait of Hormuz amidst the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.

"There have been no discussions at all between South Korea and the United States on the reduction of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)," a ministry official emphasized. The official further elaborated that the primary mission of the USFK is to maintain a strong combined defense posture with the South Korean military to deter and respond to North Korean aggression and provocations.