By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The U.S. Senate passed Thursday a bill aimed at granting the most preferential treatment to South Korea in government-to-government sales of U.S. weapons systems, a Cheong Wa Dae official said.
He called it a ``symbolic move'' to signal further strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance.
The House of Representatives already passed similar legislation Sept. 24 that would give South Korea the same privileged foreign military sales (FMS) status as members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and three other nations ― Australia, Japan and New Zealand ― known as NATO+3.
The fate of the bill now rests in the U.S. President.
``Since the mid-1990s, South Korea has asked the U.S. to upgrade its FMS status, but failed to make progress. But the bill has finally been approved by the U.S. Congress six years after Presidents Lee Myung-bak and George W. Bush agreed on the issue in April at their summit at Camp David,'' the official told reporters, asking not to be named.
``Now we can call the highest U.S. FMS group `NATO+4,''' he said. ``That is a symbolic move to prove the Korea-U.S. alliance has been upgraded further.''
FMS centers on the government-to-government method for selling U.S. defense equipment, services and training, rather than buying weapons directly from various defense firms.
NATO countries, along with the three favored nations mentioned above, have been granted a faster track for military sales. On the other hand, South Korea, the third largest buyer of U.S. defense products, has been categorized as a major ``non-NATO'' ally since 1987.
The low FMS status has made Seoul pay extra charges such as contract fees and non-recurring costs when the government buys U.S.-made weapons systems. South Korea also needs to wait a longer period for U.S. government approval than NATO+3.
The new bill, however, calls for revision of related U.S. laws, such as overseas support and arms export control laws, to give Congress 15 days to decide whether to endorse an arms sale to South Korea, instead of the normal requirement of 30 days.
The bill is also aimed at simplifying procedures during Congressional deliberation for arms exports to South Korea.
The U.S. government is required to notify Congress of proposed ``major defense equipment" sales exceeding $25 million under the bill.
Current U.S. laws require the U.S. government to get permission from Congress for the sale of major defense equipment worth over $14 million.
As for ``ordinary equipment," the U.S. government is supposed to get permission for the total sales valued at $100 million, up from the current $50 million.
South Korea has purchased $6.9 billion worth of U.S. defense goods over the past decade with the figure breaking down to $840 million in 2007 and $610 million in 2006, both the eighth biggest among foreign buyers, according to Seoul's government data.
South Korea bought $1.52 billion worth of defense products from the United States on a commercial basis in the fiscal year 2007.
Seoul is expected to purchase more than $57 billion worth of military equipment from the United States by 2020, according to arms procurement agency officials.