[ti:South Korea Wants US Troops to Stay] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]South Korea said on Wednesday that U.S. troops should stay in the country, [00:05.76]even if a peace treaty is signed with North Korea. [00:10.84]Kim Eui-kyeom is a spokesperson for South Korea's President Moon Jae-in. [00:16.36]Kim was responding to reporters' questions [00:19.92]about a recent column written by a presidential adviser. [00:24.76]It said that if a peace treaty was signed, [00:28.04]justifying the presence of U.S. forces in South Korea would be difficult. [00:35.08]Kim said, "U.S. troops stationed in South Korea are an issue regarding the alliance [00:42.47]between South Korea and the United States. [00:46.20]It has nothing to do with signing peace treaties." [00:50.64]Another presidential official added that South Korea wants the U.S. to stay [00:56.60]because its forces act as a mediator in case of military conflicts [01:01.92]between powers such as China and Japan. [01:06.64]The United States currently has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea. [01:15.68]American soldiers have been stationed there since the Korean War, [01:20.88]which ended in 1953. [01:24.72]North Korea has long demanded their withdrawal [01:28.27]as one of the conditions for giving up its nuclear and missile programs. [01:34.92]However, U.S. troops were not discussed in last week's declaration [01:40.12]by Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. [01:44.60]The two leaders said they would work [01:47.04]for the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula. [01:52.12]The North Korean leader is also expected to meet with U.S. President [01:57.12]Donald Trump in late May or June. [02:00.80]I'm Jonathan Evans. [02:03.28]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM