Joe Biden says he won't use threat of cutting U.S. troop levels in ties with South Korea

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden exits the plane as he arrives for a campaign event at the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S., October 29, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

(Reuters) - Democratic U.S. presidential challenger Joe Biden said that if elected he will strengthen Washington's alliance with Seoul and not use the threat of reducing U.S. troop levels in South Korea as a bargaining chip.

During the Trump administration, South Korea and the United States have been at odds over how much of the cost South Korea should shoulder to accommodate U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.