“We have a very big trade deficit with them, and we protect them,” Trump said at a private fundraiser in Missouri on Wednesday, according to an audio recording obtained by The Washington Post. “So we lose money on trade, and we lose money on the military. We have right now 32,000 soldiers on the border between North and South Korea. Let’s see what happens.”

In an effort to dispel confusion over the comments, a White House official said that the president “did not suggest removing American forces from South Korea” but that his administration remained committed to improving the U.S.-South Korea trade relationship for the benefit of U.S. workers.

U.S. defense officials and diplomats fielded direct calls from the Korean Embassy in Washington, but their agencies struggled to form a public response to Trump’s comments, which carry significant political and security consequences for South Korea.