House passes defense bill with stronger language on maintaining US troops in Korea

The U.S.

House of Representatives on Wednesday passed an annual defense policy bill for fiscal year 2027, containing language that tightens restrictions on the use of funds to reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in Korea.

The House voted 216 to 212 to approve the nearly $1.15 trillion bill, called the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for the fiscal year running from October to September next year, according to The Hill and other media outlets.

In the section on the oversight of U.S. military posture on the Korean Peninsula, this year's NDAA says that amounts authorized to be appropriated by the act may not be obligated or expended to curtail the number of U.S.

Forces Korea (USFK) troops below the current 28,500.

But the latest bill stipulates that none of the amounts, authorized to be appropriated by the act or "otherwise made available for fiscal years 2026 or 2027," may be obligated or expended to curtail the number of USFK troops below the current level.

The change, if enforced, would restrict the use of federal funds — allocated not only by the NDAA but also by oth ...