US pursues 'its own benefit' over GSOMIA, defense cost-sharing issues: experts

Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki, right, shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Gen. Mark Milley, ahead of the 44th Military Committee Meeting between the two chairmen at the JCS headquarters, in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of JCS

US, South Korea hold military talks MCM, SCM

By Jung Da-min

Amid a series of U.S. defense officials' visits to Seoul this week, Washington is stepping up pressure on the South Korean government on many fronts, including the renewal of a military information sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo, increasing Seoul's contribution to the defense cost-sharing with Washington and the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul.

Seoul is hosting high-level defense meetings with Washington, including the 44th Military Committee Meeting (MCM) between Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park-Han-ki and his U.S. Counterpart Gen. Mark Milley, Thursday, and the 51st Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Friday.

The annual military meetings have drawn attention as they are being held at a crucial time, when South Korea is facing deadlines for deciding whether to renew the General Security of Military Information Sharing Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan, and the 11th round of negotiations with the United States on defense cost-sharing. The GSOMIA is set to end after Nov. 22 and the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) is supposed to be concluded within this year.

Experts on the prospects of the discussions between Seoul and Washington said the United States is pursuing two agendas at the same time with Seoul, both of which only benefit the strategic interests of the U.S.

"The two issues, the GSOMIA and cost-sharing, address the core strategic interests of the United States and a core political agenda of President Trump, respectively. In a nutshell, the U.S. is pursuing two very different agendas currently with Seoul," said Go Myong-hyun, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. "Trump's agenda only benefits himself politically while damaging the long-term interests of the United States in the region. The U.S. policy establishment is well aware of this trade-off."

But experts said the defense cost-sharing talks are part of longer-term discussions while the current focus of U.S. pressure on Seoul is more on continuing the GSOMIA.

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"What the visiting U.S. military and defense officials have said in reference to burden sharing negotiations is simple political expediency. The real pressure is on continuing the GSOMIA," Go said.

The South Korean government in late August announced its decision not to renew the military intelligence pact with Japan. This followed Japan's removal of South Korea from its list of countries receiving special trade treatments, early August, citing "security" reasons. Both sides have so far kept their positions while the U.S. is mounting pressure on both countries to restore the GSOMIA, saying ending the pact would only benefit its non-allied countries in the region like China, Russia and North Korea.

Defense ministers of South Korea and Japan Jeong Kyeong-doo and Taro Kono are set to meet in Thailand on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus, held Nov. 16 to 19, days ahead of the GSOMIA deadline.

Cho Seong-ryoul, a senior adviser at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said the U.S. will first seek to revise the current South Korea-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to increase South Korea's contribution for the defense cost-sharing, to include the costs for keeping U.S. forces in the pacific region outside the Korean Peninsula. For this, the U.S. would first want to ensure South Korea's "full" participation in its Indo-Pacific strategy, he noted.

"Increasing Seoul's contribution for the defense cost-sharing requires revising the current SOFA as it does not include the costs occurring outside the Korean Peninsula. On a related note, the U.S. will first seek to engage South Korea more in its Indo-Pacific policy to make it for the basis of the SOFA revisions," Cho said.

As for the OPCON transfer from Washington to Seoul, another issue for military meetings between the two allies, the U.S. officials have said that the two sides agreed on a "conditions-based" transfer, not specifically setting the deadline. But the Moon Jae-in administration is aiming to complete the transfer within Moon's tenure, which is by 2022.

Adjusting the current joint military exercises to support "diplomatic efforts" for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was also on the agenda for the defense talks.

"We will adjust our exercise posture, either more or less, depending on what diplomacy may require," Esper was cited saying by the Associated Press. He was talking to reporters flying with him to Seoul for the annual SCM. This came as North Korea continues to criticize joint drills by South Korea and the U.S. including a winter-time joint air exercise between the allies later this month. South Korea and the United States have suspended the massive Vigilant Ace air drill since last year and replaced it with a downsized joint drill.