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| ▲ State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce speaks during a press briefing at the department in Washington on April 8, 2025. (Yonhap) |
US-S Korea-alliance
S. Korea-U.S. relationship remains 'strong': State Dept.
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 8 (Yonhap) -- The relationship between South Korea and the United States remains "strong," the State Department's spokesperson said Tuesday, amid worries that the absence of a fully elected leader in Seoul, caused by the recent ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol, could impact the bilateral alliance.
Last Friday, the Constitutional Court unanimously upheld the impeachment of Yoon, unseating him from office over his short-lived martial law imposition in December and setting the stage for a presidential election in early June. Acting President Han Duck-soo is currently leading the Seoul government.
"I know that our relationship with South Korea is strong, and I know that as an ally, we are expecting them to follow certain rules and norms," Tammy Bruce, the spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "And we, of course, enjoy their allyship, and we enjoy that relationship."
She refused to comment on the possibility of a renegotiation of last year's defense cost-sharing deal between Seoul and Washington.
"I can't answer that, right? So I won't be discussing the nature of diplomatic conversations or anything of that nature, or what choices we might make either, certainly as a government, but certainly not as the State Department," Bruce said.
The prospects for a renegotiation emerged as President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he and Han discussed Seoul's payment for America's "big time" military protection of the Asian ally during their first phone call since Trump took office in January.
In October, Seoul and Washington struck the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA). Under the deal for the 2026-30 period, Seoul is to pay 1.52 trillion won (US$1.03 billion) next year for stationing the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) -- up from 1.4 trillion won this year.
After the conclusion of the SMA negotiations, Trump, then a presidential candidate, said that South Korea would be paying $10 billion a year for the upkeep of USFK if he had been in the White House. He also described the Asian country as a "money machine."
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