So Much for Being Equal Partners

Hat tip to Nomad for pointing out this dandy, Kim Kyu-hyun, a Defense Ministry official claimed on a radio program that the Korean government is going to try and reduce the amount they pay per year for the upkeep of USFK:

A senior National Defense Ministry official said Wednesday that Korea will try to reduce its share of expenses for keeping U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula in the upcoming negotiations with the United States.

Appearing on a KBS radio talk show, Kim Kyu-hyun, a Defense Ministry official in charge of international cooperation, attributed the move to the reduced size of the U.S. Forces Korea and increased burdens on Korea for financing the relocation of the U.S. Forces Korea headquarters.

Referring to reports that Washington wants to link Seoul¿s plan to regain wartime operational control with the defense cost-sharing negotiations, the official said that the Korean government has no intention of doing so.

This cost sharing issue may really end up being the straw that broke the camels back in regards to if USFK under goes a complete pull out from Korea.  I find it totally hypocritical that a country that demands equality with the US won’t put their money where their mouth is.  The Koreans are only paying 40% of the costs of USFK and want to pay less even though Donald Rumsfeld has already publicly said he intends for Seoul to pay an equal amount.  The whole base relocation excuse for not paying an equal share is getting old because the South Korean government will make more than enough money to cover the relocation costs by selling the land from the vacated USFK bases being handed over to them.  So much for being equal partners in peace.