South Korea has refused to share the costs of US military operations beyond the Korean peninsula during US-Korea cost-sharing talks in Seoul, Jeong Eun-bo, the head of the South Korean delegation, said Thursday
SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2019) South Korea has refused to share the costs of US military operations beyond the Korean peninsula during US-Korea cost-sharing talks in Seoul, Jeong Eun-bo, the head of the South Korean delegation, said Thursday.Negotiation teams from both countries gathered on December 17-18 for the last time before the current Special Measures Agreement (SMA) expires on December 31. Previously, South Korean media speculated that the US could demand from Seoul to share costs of deploying heavy military equipment after reports said that Washington asked to include threats to US national security across the globe in the sphere of US-South Korea combined response. Later, the South Korean government refuted such rumors.
"We have made it clear that (South Korea) cannot accept the defense-sharing costs for American troops stationed abroad. We strongly adhere to our principled stance that the SMA framework, which has been there for 28 years, must be maintained," Jeong said during a press briefing, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
Since 1991, South Korea has been compensating the US a part of its costs of deploying troops in South Korea per the SMA. US President Donald Trump has accused Seoul of not contributing enough on multiple occasions.
