South Korea and the United States broke off talks on sharing the costs of maintaining the American contingent on the Korean Peninsula because of differences in positions and decided to extend the discussion for another round, the South Korean foreign Ministry said.
“The US-South Korea talks on the division of defense spending on November 19 did not go as expected. The position of the American side is that by adding new items to the agreement, etc., it is necessary to significantly increase the amount of expenses. We believe that the agreement should remain acceptable for both parties, within the framework of the SMA, (Special Measures Agreement) as it was during the previous 28 years”, – the South Korean Foreign Ministry said after the talks.
Since 1991, the Republic of Korea has reimbursed Washington under a special agreement for a portion of the cost of maintaining the US military in South Korea.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly stated that US allies must “pay a fair price” for the protection that America provides. So, in 2017, Trump informed South Korea that it would be “appropriate” to pay $1 billion for the deployment of the American missile defense system THAAD, aimed at defending against the DPRK. However, subsequently, representatives of the Pentagon and the Department of State announced that the United States would pay for the placement of the system. South Korean media also reported that the United States may demand $4.7 billion from South Korea.