Korea, US to hold 7th round of talks on defense cost sharing this week

The Boeing CH-47 Chinooks are ready to take off at U.S. Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, May 21. Yonhap

Korea and the United States will hold their seventh round of negotiations in Seoul this week on determining Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), official said Monday.

The talks are set to take place from Tuesday through Thursday, led by the chief negotiators — Lee Tae-woo of Korea and Linda Specht representing the United States — as the allies work to renew the current six-year deal, which will expire at the end of next year.

Under the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), Seoul has since 1991 partially shared the cost for Korean USFK workers; the construction of military installations, such as barracks, as well as training, educational, operational and communications facilities; and other logistical support.

The latest negotiations were launched in April as Korea is seeking to strike an early deal to apparently avoid tough bargaining if former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Under Trump's presidency, Washington had demanded more than a fivefold increase in Seoul's payment to $5 billion.

Korea has called for an agreement that will set its share at "a reasonable level," and the U.S. has stressed the goal of reaching "a mutually acceptable" deal.

The current SMA committed Korea to paying $1.03 billion for 2021, a 13.9 percent increase from 2019, and increasing the payment every year for the subsequent four years in line with the rise in Seoul's defense spending. (Yonhap)