Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks at a press conference at the party headquarters in Seoul on May 25,. Yonhap)
Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks at a press conference at the party headquarters in Seoul on May 25,. Yonhap)

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of South Korea's progressive Democratic Party, has highlighted the strategic importance of US Forces Korea in Washington's efforts to contain China amid speculation the Donald Trump administration may scale down American troops stationed in the country.

The Korea-based American forces "actually play a very important critical role for the United States policy of containment against China," Lee said in an interview with US magazine TIME published Thursday.

Lee's remarks came after The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Washington is considering withdrawing some 4,500 troops, or 16 percent of the USFK, and relocating them to other locations in the Indo-Pacific.

Both Seoul and Washington have dismissed the report, with the Pentagon reaffirming America's full commitment to South Korea's defense.

TIME pointed out that Lee, once seen as more friendly toward China, now appears to be moving to a pro-US stance during the election campaign.

Lee is considered one of the strongest candidates for the June 3 presidential election. He led the latest opinion poll with 49.2 percent, followed by Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party at 36.8 percent.

Lee also expressed support for Trump's North Korean policies, saying that Trump's willingness to engage in dialogue with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was "helpful for the peace of the Korean Peninsula, as well as for Northeast Asia."

He dismissed concerns that South Korea might be sidelined in future talks, saying it would be "structurally" difficult to exclude Seoul even if direct Trump-Kim negotiations resumed.

During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump sat down with Kim three times for nuclear negotiations, though the two sides failed to produce a constructive agreement.

On relations with Japan, Lee reaffirmed his demand for a more "fulsome" apology for Tokyo's colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945.

"We cannot dwell on the past, but Japan continues to deny its history and does not sincerely apologize, which hurts us Koreans," he told TIME.

In trade policy, Lee pledged to pursue "reasonable and rational" discussions with the US to resolve tariff issues.

South Korea is seeking to gain a full exemption or reduction of the Trump administration's 25 percent reciprocal tariffs for the country, as well as sectoral tariffs on steel, automobiles and other imports, by crafting a package deal on trade issues by early July. (Yonhap)