South Korean Defense Chief Declares Course On 'Win-Win' Military Cost-Sharing Deal With US

South Korean Defense Chief Declares Course on 'Win-Win' Military Cost-Sharing Deal With US

South Korea is determined to strike a mutually-beneficial "win-win" deal with the United States that would take into account the broader framework of Seoul-Washington cooperation when negotiating their long-standing disagreement on how much each side should pay toward the maintenance of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said on Friday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th October, 2019) South Korea is determined to strike a mutually-beneficial "win-win" deal with the United States that would take into account the broader framework of Seoul-Washington cooperation when negotiating their long-standing disagreement on how much each side should pay toward the maintenance of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said on Friday.

The maintenance costs of the US military personnel, stationed in South Korea, has long been an issue of controversy between the US and South Korea. The matter is regulated under the bilateral Special Measures Agreement (SMA), renewable every five years. Since the latest SMA expired last December, Washington has insisted that Seoul increase its spending 41 percent from 2018, more than South Korea is willing to make its taxpayers pay.

"We now have the negotiations with a comprehensive and forward-looking perspective. We will try to make a deal in a mutually beneficial, win-win way," Jeong said during a parliamentary audit, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.

He added that while Washington has demanded that Seoul pay $5 billion toward the USFK stationing in the country, the exact amount was yet to be decided.

"I believe we need to view the defense cost matter within the wider framework of the Korea-US alliance," the minister said.

The 28,500-strong USFK contingent has been present in South Korea since 1991. Scattered across the country, the military has been occupying some of the most valuable real estates in prime locations, including in Seoul. The SMA stipulates that the costs of stationing the troops be shared between Washington and Seoul, but the countries have drastically disagreed on how much each side should contribute.

A new round of the bilateral talks on the matter is expected to take place next week.