Chairman John Hamre of the Center for Strategic and International Studies(CSIS) in Washington D.C. (Photo:CSIS)

President John Hamre of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said a pullout of U.S. troops from South Korea would be a disaster for the United States, In his speech made on Sept. 24 at the Special Lecture session at the Choi Jong-hyun Academic Institute in Seoul, he said there are many U.S. politicians and Americans who think that once a peace treaty is signed with North Korea, U.S. troops from Korea can be pulled out, a move he thinks would be a mistake.

Hamre was speaking on the subject of “Seeking for Sustainable Strategy for the Korea-U.S. Alliance.” CSIS is a think tank in the areas of politics and diplomacy, and President Hamre, a former U.S. deputy Defense Secretary, has been leading the institution for over 20 years as an expert in diplomacy and security.

He termed South Korea an “advance base” for free democracy and market economy, a country ruled by law and democracy.

If the U.S. withdraws from Korea, the problem of who will speak for the U.S. in Asia arises, he said. The U.S. first came to Korea because of North Korea, but it stays in the country to deter China. The U.S. waits for Korea to grow strong enough to do its share to keep freedom and democracy.

President Hamre criticized U.S. pressure to boost South Korea’s share of expenses to maintain the U.S. troops here.

He said former White House National Security Adviser John Bolton’s bill worth $5 billion, which was sent to the Korean government to pay its share of the expenses for keeping U.S. troops stationed in Korea, is based on misunderstanding. The U.S. keeps its troops in Korea for the defense of its own values, not solely for the defense of Korea, he said.

He also said the U.S. is fortunate to have an ally like Korea, but not many Americans understand the relationship. North Korean’s nuclear Gordian knot has not been solved for over 20 years. The number of North Korean nuclear weapons is increasing even now.

There is deep concerned about the possibility that the Trump administration and the Moon Jae-in administration may join hands to do something that only deepens insecurity on the Korean Peninsula. In a Sept. 24 summit in New York between the two leaders, both reportedly agreed to "transform" their North Korea policies.

What a transformation means is not clear. But the two leaders are likely to deviate from their principle of "easing sanctions after denuclearization.

President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during summit talks at the White House early this year. (Photo on the courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae website)

North Korea has demanded the United States ensure its regime's security. It also wants the removal of USFK, one of the threats to its security. But if Washington and Seoul concur with Pyongyang's logic, it could lead to a pullout of USFK even when the North Korean nuclear threat remains. That's a worst-case scenario.

Moon presented a proposal to create an international peace zone in the demilitarized zone in his address to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday. He wants to prevent a military clash on the tense border by removing more than 1 million land mines and encouraging UN agencies to relocate there.

Moon's proposal is far-fetched, analysts say. Demining activities in the DMZ and establishing a UN agency there can be done over time. What's urgent is the removal of North Korea's nuclear threats.

Development of the DMZ can violate the UN sanctions and requires close consultations with the United Nations Command. It is best to stick to the existing policy to denuclearize North Korea through sanctions.

There are fears that Trump may take the procedures for such moves after the 3rd Summit with North Korean Leader taking such a feeling in Washington as a friendly force.

With the reelection scheduled for November of next year, the Trump reelection camp might want to make moves to package the 3rd Summit with North Korean Leader Kim Jung Un and such feeling in the diplomatic corridors in Washington as a relief force and actually take steps to pull out.