The U.S. Senate has passed an annual defense policy bill that prohibits the government from unilaterally reducing the number of troops stationed in South Korea.

The Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act(NDAA) for the next fiscal year in a 77-20 vote on Wednesday. The U.S. House of Representatives had passed the bill last week.

The legislation will take effect once signed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The NDAA stipulates that its authorized funds may not be used to lower the number of U.S. troops deployed in South Korea below their current level of 28-thousand-500.

It also bars the use of funds allocated under the act to complete the transition of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul in a way that deviates from the existing bilateral agreement.

The budget‑linked restrictions on troop reductions had lapsed under U.S. President Joe Biden but have resurfaced for the first time in five years during Trump’s second term.