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In this file photo, an official of the US delegation arrives at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul to hold the fourth round of negotiations on the South Korea-US defense cost sharing on June 25. (Yonhap) |
South Korea and the United States will hold their seventh round of negotiations in Seoul this week to determine Seoul's share of the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea, officials said Monday.
The talks are set to take place from Tuesday through Thursday, led by the chief negotiators — Lee Tae-woo of South 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, 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 South Korea seeks to strike an early deal, apparently to avoid tough bargaining if former US 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.
South Korea has called for an agreement that will set its share at "a reasonable level," while the US has stressed the goal of reaching "a mutually acceptable" deal.
The current SMA committed South Korea to paying $1.03 billion for 2021, a 13.9 percent increase from 2019, with the payment increasing every year for the subsequent four years in line with the rise in Seoul's defense spending. (Yonhap)
