Home to 28,000 U.S. troops, South Korea unlikely to avoid a Taiwan conflict

26/9/2022 18:54

        Tensions over Taiwan have raised the thorny issue of whether U.S. troops based in South Korea would be involved in any conflict, with American and South
        Korean officials acknowledging that the peninsula could easily be dragged into a crisis.
        
        South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told CNN in an interview aired on Sunday that his country was keen to work with the United States to “expand freedom”, but that in a conflict over Taiwan, North Korea would be more likely to stage a provocation and that the alliance should focus on that first.
        
        North Korea has a mutual defence treaty with China and military analysts suggest it could coordinate with Beijing or take advantage of a crisis to pursue its own military goals.