S Korea says no talks held with US on troop withdrawal

SEOUL, May 23 (Reuters): South Korea's defence ministry said on Friday that Seoul and Washington had not had discussions about the withdrawal of some U.S. troops stationed in the country.

The ministry made the comment in response to a report by the Wall Street Journal that said the U.S. was considering pulling out roughly 4,500 troops from South Korea.

One option being considered was to relocate some of the troops to other locations in the Indo-Pacific region including Guam, according to the report, which cited unnamed U.S. military officials.

There are currently 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

South Korea would continue cooperation with the United States to maintain a strong combined defence posture in order to deter North Korea.