South Korea, US Fail To Reach Agreement In New Round Of Defense Cost Sharing Talks - Seoul

SEOUL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th January, 2020) South Korea and the United States have failed to bridge their differences on sharing costs of keeping the US troops on the peninsula, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The US and South Korea held the sixth round of defense cost-sharing talks on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington in a bid to negotiate a mutually acceptable replacement for the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), which expired on December 31, 2019.

"During these talks, we adhered to our fundamental position that the agreement should be reasonable and fair within the framework of the current SMA. Both sides broadened their mutual understanding and common interests, but confirmed that ... there are still differences," the ministry said in a statement.

At the same time, the ministry added that the US and South Korea agreed to continue efforts to reach the deal in the near future. The next round of talks will be scheduled through diplomatic channels.

On Tuesday, ahead of the negotiations, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that the countries' positions on the matter were still far apart though they had made certain progress in the talks. A senior US official has also pointed out that the two parties advanced in negotiations and that Seoul recognized how "stalwart" the US was "in seeking partnership on burden-sharing."

According to media reports, previous talks did not yield results, as Washington pressed Seoul to pay nearly $5 billion in 2020 for hosting the United States Forces Korea (USFK).

The 28,500-strong USFK contingent has been present in South Korea since 1991. South Korea has since been partially covering the US' expenses for upkeeping its military deployed to the Korean Peninsula. It paid to Washington $870 million in 2019. As of now, over 20,000 US troops are stationed on the peninsula.