国际聚焦：美国驻韩军队或成朝美谈判筹码

International Focus: U.S. Troops in South Korea Emerge as Potential Bargaining Chip

国际聚焦：美国驻韩军队或成朝美谈判筹码

SEOUL—Powerful voices in Washington and Seoul have given a burst of energy to a question long relegated to the margins of public debate: If a peace deal can be struck with Pyongyang, would there be any need for U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula?

从华盛顿和首尔发出的有力声音给长期处于公开辩论边缘的一个问题增添了一股能量，这个问题就是：如果能够与平壤达成和平协议，朝鲜半岛是否还需要美国驻军？

The suggestion, once taboo in Washington and Seoul, comes ahead of a planned summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, where some North Korea watchers expect Mr. Kim to raise the idea with the U.S. president.

这一度是华盛顿和首尔禁忌的话题。而眼下，朝鲜领导人金正恩(Kim Jong Un)与美国总统特朗普(Donald Trump)即将举行峰会，一些朝鲜观察人士预计金正恩将向特朗普提出这个想法。

A fringe minority of peace activists in South Korea has for decades called for the removal of the 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea, calling them an affront to the country’s sovereignty and an obstacle to peace. That is largely in line with North Korea’s consistent position in calling for their removal.

过去几十年里，韩国一小部分和平运动者一直呼吁美国撤离2.85万驻韩美军，称美国驻军是对韩国主权的一种侮辱，是和平的绊脚石。这与朝鲜在要求驻韩美军撤离问题上的一贯立场基本相符。

Generally in South Korea and the U.S., however, the idea of withdrawal or troop reduction has been regarded as a nonstarter. Both the White House and South Korea’s left-leaning Moon Jae-in administration have been careful to underscore the importance of the U.S.-South Korea military alliance for maintaining stability in the region.

不过总体而言在韩国和美国，撤离或削减驻韩美军一直被认为是一个不切实际的想法。无论是美国白宫还是韩国左倾的文在寅(Moon Jae-in)政府，均小心翼翼地强调美国与韩国为维持朝鲜半岛稳定结成军事联盟的重要性。

On Friday, national security adviser John Bolton joined the Pentagon and South Korea’s presidential office in denying a New York Times report that Mr. Trump had ordered the Pentagon to look into drawing down troops in South Korea.

上周五，美国国家安全顾问博尔顿(John Bolton)加入了美国国防部和韩国总统府的阵营，驳斥了《纽约时报》(New York Times)的一篇报道。该报道称，特朗普已下令美国国防部研究削减驻韩美军人数的可能性。

Even so, the debate has picked up steam in the past week as top advisers and officials in the U.S. and South Korean governments express an openness to the idea.

尽管如此，随着美韩两国政府高级顾问和官员对这一想法表达开放态度，过去一周这场争论已然升温。

Raising the possibility of U.S. troop reductions “will exacerbate ongoing allied fears both in South Korea and Japan about the U.S.’s commitment and resolve to defend them,” says Bruce Klingner, a former Central Intelligence Agency deputy division chief for Korea, now at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank. “It’s a worrisome development.”

Bruce Klingner称，韩国和日本一直担心美国的防卫承诺和决心，美国裁减驻军的可能性加大将加剧两国的这一担忧，这种情况令人担心。Klingner曾任美国中央情报局韩国处副处长，目前在华盛顿保守智库Heritage Foundation任职。

Mr. Trump has argued that the U.S. gets “practically nothing” for the roughly $1.2 billion a year it spends to station forces in South Korea. The president told a rally in Missouri in March that South Korea was “making a fortune” from trade with the U.S., even as the U.S. protected the country.

特朗普曾称，美国每年为驻韩美军开支大约12亿美元，但从中几乎没得到任何回报。今年3月，特朗普在密苏里州的一场会议上表示，在美国为韩国提供军事保护的同时，韩国却在韩美贸易中大发横财。