The US is ready to discuss the withdrawal of troops from the Korean peninsula

US and South Korean military during joint exercises

Washington still retains in the south of the Korean peninsula 28 thousand troops because of the North Korean threat. The head of the Pentagon, James Mattis, told reporters on April 28 that the US is ready to discuss with North Korea's allies and withdrawal of its troops from the Korean peninsula, RIA Novosti reported.

"This is part of the issues that we will discuss during negotiations with our allies in the first place and, of course, with North Korea," Mattis said. He also stressed that at the moment "do not try to offer preconditions or speculate about how this should happen."

Recall, the statement of the head of the Pentagon was made against the background of the inter-Korean summit, during which the leaders of South Korea and North Korea signed a joint declaration on key issues of peace on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul and Pyongyang, in particular, agreed on efforts to hold trilateral talks with the US, as well as quadripartite talks with the US and China.

The summit was held ahead of the expected meeting of the leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump, whose date and place have not yet been appointed.