The US is holding about 28,000 troops in South Korea to prevent potential aggression against North Korea, a legacy of the Korean War from 1950 to 53. But how much South Korea had to pay for the US military presence was a thorny issue in bilateral relations under the Trump administration, which has often asked its Asian ally to drastically increase its share.
In 2019, the allies entered into an agreement requiring South Korea to pay approximately $ 924 million (1.04 trillion won) for the presence of US troops, an increase of $ 830 million in the previous year. But negotiations for a new cost-sharing plan broke down over a U.S. demand that Seoul pay five times what it had previously paid.
The Department of State said in a statement that the increase in the South’s share of the cost is “significant” but is no longer specific.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the deal, said it would last until 2025.
The State Department said in a statement: “America’s alliances are a huge source of our strength. This development reflects the commitment of the Biden-Harris government to revitalize and modernize our democratic alliances to promote our shared security and prosperity. ”
Many conservatives in South Korea are worried that then-President Donald Trump could use failed cost-sharing negotiations as an excuse to withdraw some US troops in South Korea as a bargaining chip in the now stalled nuclear talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un . The US and South Korea have also suspended or canceled some of their military exercises in recent years to support nuclear diplomacy, which eventually fell apart due to disputes over US-led sanctions against North Korea.
On Monday, the South Korean and U.S. military launched military exercises that would last nine days. South Korea’s military said the exercises were command post exercises and computerized simulation and did not involve field training. It said the allies were reviewing factors such as the status of Covid-19 and diplomatic efforts to resume nuclear talks with North Korea when they decided to hold the exercises.
The prospect of a new cost-sharing plan has been raised as the Biden government seeks to strengthen its alliance with South Korea and other countries.
South Korea began paying for the U.S. military deployment in the early 1990s, after its economy was rebuilt from the devastation of the Korean War. The large US military presence in South Korea is a symbol of the alliance of countries, but also a source of long-standing anti-American sentiments.