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| U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams retweeted a dictionary explanation of the traditional Korean idiom "to drink kimchi broth." The post drew criticism from the public here as it was seen as mocking the Korean government for hastily reporting on a defense-cost sharing agreement with the U.S. / captured image from USFK Commander Gen. Robert Abrams' Twitter |
By Yi Whan-woo
The government is drawing criticism over its "hasty" announcement earlier this week that a tentative agreement had been reached with the United States in their defense cost-sharing talks.
Washington has yet to announce a new Special Measures Agreement (SMA), which Seoul said it would do Wednesday at the earliest, that stipulates the latter's share for upkeep of the 28,000 United States Forces Korea (USFK).
Analysts said Friday U.S. President Donald Trump may have refused to approve the agreement that, according to diplomatic sources, would have the two allies sign a multiple-year contract rather than another stopgap one-year deal.
The two sides were also believed to have agreed on Seoul paying somewhere between 1.2 trillion won to 1.3 trillion won ($1.05 billion) for 2020, up from 1.03 trillion won for 2019.
This is in contrast to Washington's demand for $4 billion annually.
"Trump is the ultimate decider in the defense-cost sharing talks," Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, said. "In that regard, it is reckless for our government to make an announcement before confirming Trump has given his approval."
Park pointed out Trump has been dissatisfied with Seoul's "free-ride" on U.S. defense and sought a massive increase in Seoul's financial contribution for maintaining the USFK.
Kim Dong-yeop, a research professor at the Kyungnam University Institute for Far Eastern Studies, speculated Seoul's "hasty" announcement may have irked the White House and that it has decided to reconsider the tentative deal.
Kim reckoned the U.S. may have been "offended" by Korean media reports linking a recent phone call between President Moon Jae-in and Trump over the COVID-19 pandemic to the tentative agreement.
Citing a foreign ministry official, the reports said SMA talks saw a breakthrough after the two leaders appeared to have agreed to share the need for the allies to cooperate in difficult times.
Trump especially expressed hope that South Korea could provide medical equipment support to fight the spread of the virus across the U.S., according to media reports citing Cheong Wa Dae officials
"For Trump, his country is not in a position to accept other countries' demands just because it received help," Kim said. "The way the Korean media have explained the U.S.' need to fight the coronavirus in relation to the defense-cost sharing talks may have gotten on Trump's nerves."
U.S. officials denied South Korean media reports on an impending deal, saying negotiations were ongoing and that Trump has been clear that "Our allies around the world, including South Korea, can and should contribute more."
Meanwhile, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Robert Abrams has added to wild speculation on the tentative agreement, Thursday, through a Twitter post that appeared to mock the government for hastily announcing the deal.
He retweeted a dictionary explanation of the traditional Korean idiom "to drink kimchi broth," saying he had just learned the expression "Don't eat your kimchi stew before the time is right," which means "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
