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Trump eyes closure of U.S. consulate in Busan along with 26 other diplomatic facilities

Published: 16 Apr. 2025, 11:17

U.S. President Donald Trump on Oct. 19, 2024 [REUTERS/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to close the U.S. consulate in Korea along with 26 other embassies and consulates around the world, CNN reported Tuesday.

The report was based on an internal State Department document obtained by CNN.

The 17 consulates under review include the U.S. consulate in Busan, as well as five in France, two in Germany, two in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one in the United Kingdom, and one in South Africa.

The United States currently maintains a consulate in Busan in addition to its embassy in Seoul. If the recommendation outlined in the internal document is implemented, consular operations in Busan would likely be folded into the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

The embassies slated for closure are concentrated in Europe and Africa, including those in Malta, Luxembourg, Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

“The document proposes that the closed embassies’ duties be covered by outposts in neighboring countries,” reported CNN.

Separate from the proposed closures, the document also recommends downsizing U.S. diplomatic missions in Iraq and Somalia, two states commonly regarded as integral to the counterterrorism efforts of the United States.

The recommendations for “resizing” diplomatic posts “were evaluated based on feedback from regional bureaus and the interagency, consular workload, cost per USDH [U.S. direct hire] billet, condition of facilities and security ratings,” according to CNN.

The recommendations appear to be part of a broader restructuring effort by the Trump administration aimed at downsizing the federal government.

It remains unclear whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved the embassy and consulate closure recommendations.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the potential closures, only saying “I would suggest that you check with the White House and the president of the United States as they continue to work on their budget plan and what they submit to Congress.”

“The kinds of numbers and what we tend to see is reporting that is early or wrong, based on leaked documents from somewhere unknown.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]