The U.S. State Department announced Sunday (March 7, 2021) that the U.S. and South Korean governments have reached an agreement on cost-sharing for military presence, with South Korea agreeing to share more of the cost of U.S. troops in South Korea. The agreement is expected to ease an annoyance between the two allies.
A State Department spokeswoman said the agreement reflects the Biden administration’s “commitment to reinvigorate and improve our democratic alliance around the world and to advance our shared security and prosperity.”
The six-year “special measures agreement” will replace a previous agreement that expired at the end of 2019.
The spokesman said the agreement includes a “negotiated and agreed-upon increase in the cost of the associated military presence in the countries where the troops are stationed,” but provided no further details.
The U.S. currently has 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter the North Korean threat. A State Department spokesman said that under previous cost-sharing agreements, 90 percent of the money provided by South Korea went directly back into the South Korean economy.
Negotiations between the two sides stalled after former U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Seoul’s offer to increase spending by 13 percent, or $1 billion a year, during his presidency, instead demanding that South Korea pay up to $5 billion a year. South Korea currently pays $920 million a year.
The latest U.S.-South Korea agreement must also be approved by the South Korean National Assembly. South Korea’s foreign ministry issued a statement confirming that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle, but did not provide details.
The U.S. and Japan also reached an agreement last month for cost-sharing for 55,000 U.S. troops in Japan, keeping Japan’s annual share at $1.9 billion.
The Biden Administration came to power vowing to reinvigorate U.S. alliances and create a united front to meet the challenges of Russia, China and Iran.
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