U.S. House of Representatives Passes 'U.S. Forces Korea' Bill to Maintain Current Level'

The Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which calls for keeping U.S. troops in South Korea at current levels, passed the House of Representatives ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in January next year.

On the 11th local time, the House of Representatives passed a defense authorization bill worth 895.2 billion dollars with 281 votes in favor and 140 against, and about 1,285 trillion won in our money.

That's up about 1% from fiscal 2024, when the U.S. ruling and opposition parties agreed last year to raise the defense budget for fiscal 2025 by only up to 1% during negotiations to increase the debt limit.

The National Defense Authorization Act included maintaining about 28,500 U.S. troops deployed to South Korea, strengthening the foundation of the mutual defense industry, and reaffirming the extended deterrence pledge using all U.S. military defense capabilities.

He also instructed the Ministry of National Defense to report each plan to strengthen the U.S. commitment to the extended deterrence of South Korea and the progress of defense cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

The National Defense Authorization Bill also included ▲ $143.8 billion R&D budget ▲ $33.5 billion in shipbuilding and procurement budget for seven combat ships ▲ European and Pacific deterrence initiatives ▲ military salary increases.

The budget for building military capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region is $15.6 billion, the Associated Press said.

It also included phrases Republicans demand to combat what they call a "left-wing culture," such as restrictions on medical insurance support related to gender transition for active military children and restrictions on the creation of positions related to diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) by the Department of Defense.

For this reason, the AP reported that 124 votes were against Democrats (16 against Republicans).

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is a law that proposes budget levels and projects in relation to the U.S. defense budget.

The House and Senate recently prepared a single NDAA plan, leaving only the Senate to re-decide and sign the president according to the passage of the House of Representatives.