S. Korea, U.S. to hold new round of talks on defense cost sharing

김승연 / 2024-06-25 06:00:01

S Korea-US-defense cost sharing

S Korea-US-defense cost sharing

S. Korea, U.S. to hold new round of talks on defense cost sharing

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, June 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States were set to hold a new round of negotiations Tuesday on sharing the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Seoul's foreign ministry officials said.

The three-day talks in Seoul will be led by Lee Tae-woo, South Korea's chief negotiator for the talks, and Linda Specht, the U.S. lead negotiator for security agreements at the State Department.

The talks come about two weeks after they held the third round on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) in Washington.

The allies launched the negotiations in April, earlier than expected, amid speculation that Seoul wants an early deal to avoid tough bargaining with Washington in case former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Under Trump's presidency, Washington had demanded more than a fivefold increase in Seoul's payment to US$5 billion.

The current six-year SMA, due to expire at the end of next year, committed South Korea to paying $1.03 billion for 2021, a 13.9 percent increase from 2019, and increasing the payment every year for the subsequent four years in line with the rise in Seoul's defense spending.

Since 1991, Seoul has partially shared the cost for Korean USFK workers; the construction of military installations, such as barracks, as well as training, educational, operational and communications facilities; and other logistical support.

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