Here is the latest on the USFK cost sharing issue:
US President Donald Trump told a press briefing Thursday that South Korea had agreed to pay “substantial money” to the US for the upkeep of the 28,500 American troops stationed here, repeating what he had told Reuters a week earlier.
“It costs us a lot of money. And if we’re going to defend countries, they should also respect us by making a contribution,” Trump said.
The Trump administration is reportedly pushing Korea to pay about $1.3 billion, a whopping 49 percent more than Korea paid last year and roughly four times the amount that Seoul and Washington shook hands on for an interim deal last March.
Trump openly rejected the deal and has since pressed Korea to shoulder a greater share of the defense costs.
Korea Herald
You can read more at the link.
President Moon has enough political capital after his party won the parliamentary elections decisively to hold his ground on this issue:
Seoul is standing firm against Washington’s repeated pressure for a hefty increase in its share of the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong United States Forces Korea (USFK) stationed here. Although the lack of deal has put thousands of Korean workers at U.S. military bases on unpaid leave, the government is not accepting the U.S. demand, but instead responding by setting up special laws to support the workers.
Korea Times
“Korea and the U.S. are still in negotiations over the defense cost-sharing deal and nothing has been officially decided yet,” the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Cheong Wa Dae also said that the allies were still in talks, adding that there was nothing new to reveal.
You can read more at the link, but I can see this dragging out for quite a while.
Here is the latest on the US-ROK cost sharing issue straight from the U.S. President himself:
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he “rejected” Seoul’s defense cost-sharing offer and pressed Korea “to pay for a big percentage of what we’re doing.”
“Now, they’ve offered us a certain amount of money, and I’ve rejected it,” Trump said at a White House coronavirus task force press briefing Monday, as Seoul and Washington struggle to sign a new bilateral Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on the upkeep of some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in Korea.
After months of negotiations, Korean officials at the end of last month indicated that the two sides were on the brink of signing a new deal after negotiators neared a tentative agreement which had Seoul paying a higher contribution than their previous accord but not anywhere near the amount demanded by Washington.
U.S. officials told Reuters earlier this month that Trump decided to turn down Seoul’s offer to raise its contribution by at least 13 percent compared to the previous agreement.
“Look, you know, we’re doing a tremendous service,” said Trump in the briefing. “We have a wonderful feeling and a wonderful relationship with each other, but we have to be treated equitably and fairly.”
However, Trump appeared to deny a report that he was personally negotiating with President Moon Jae-in terms for a reduction of U.S. troops in Korea with four possible scenarios.
“It’s not a question of reduction,” Trump said. “It’s a question of: Will they contribute toward the defense of their own nation?”
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link, but I think what is going on is that President Trump wants a larger cash payment from the ROK while in the past the ROK has used a lot of goods and services to offset cash payments.
For example they pay the salaries of the Korean employees that work for USFK. That is money that is going back into the Korean economy. They also pay for new buildings and renovations which once again is done by Korean workers putting that money back into the economy. The ROK will also purchase civilian vehicles and give them to USFK for official use as well. The vehicles purchased is also money going back into the Korean economy.
I don’t know, but I would not be surprised that President Trump being a business man is pushing for more cash payments to USFK instead of goods and services. With the ROK parliamentary elections over I think the real negotiating can actually begin.
As I have long said, I did not expect a cost sharing deal to get done before the April 15th Korean parliamentary elections and it appears that will be the case:
U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected South Korea’s offer to raise its contribution to shared defense costs by at least 13 percent, a news report said Friday.
Trump made the decision last week after consultations with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, Reuters said, quoting unidentified current and former U.S. officials.
Esper made a phone call to South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo earlier this week to press Seoul to quickly agree to much higher contributions, it said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but politically there was no way the ruling party would agree to a major increase in defense spending. By the Trump administration turning down the modest increase, the Moon administration can go into the election saying they tried, but the Trump administration is too greedy and that is why all you Korean employees that work on U.S. bases are laid off.
The next decision by the Moon administration will be if they want to wait until after the U.S. Presidential election to make a deal.
Previous reporting has said the US and the ROK are close to a new cost sharing deal, but it has not been reached soon enough to stop the furlough of thousands of Korean employees:
Following months of warnings, the U.S. military put 4,500 South Korean base employees — about half its local workforce — on unpaid leave indefinitely Wednesday after the allies failed to agree on a new defense cost-sharing deal.
The furlough — the first of its kind — was a blow to the alliance and joint military readiness to fight on the divided peninsula, which commanders say already has been jeopardized by restrictions on movement aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
I wonder if the coronavirus test kits that South Korea has agreed to send to the U.S. had any bearing on the ongoing US-ROK cost sharing negotiations:
U.S. and South Korea are close to reaching a defense cost-sharing deal, a negotiator said Tuesday in Seoul on the eve of American military plans to put half of its local work force on unpaid leave.
U.S. Forces Korea was able to keep about 4,500 South Korean employees determined to be essential for maintaining “life, health, safety and minimum readiness.”
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest on the US-ROK cost sharing negotiations:
Korea and the United States still have gaps over the sharing of the cost for stationing the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, after they wrapped up three days of hard bargaining in Los Angeles.
The failure to reconcile their differences added to concerns that Korean workers in the USFK could be forced to go on unpaid leave starting next month, as the U.S. military has repeatedly warned of furloughs if a deal is not reached.
Seoul’s top negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his U.S. counterpart, James DeHart, held the talks from Tuesday through Thursday to reach the cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA). They were initially to meet for two days but extended their negotiations for another day.
Joong Ang Ilbo
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest on the US-ROK cost sharing negotiations:
The latest push from Washington came Wednesday, after the Defense Department hinted that the cost-sharing agreement might be high on the agenda, if not the highest, in the upcoming Feb. 24 meeting between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper.
Korea Times
“We’ve got to work through the agreement for funding of forces, so that will obviously be a topic we will discuss,” Jonathan Hoffman, assistant to the secretary of defense for public affairs, said in a press briefing. “He’s looking forward to this meeting next week.”
When asked about the holding of joint military exercises this spring, Hoffman said he had nothing to say on the matter, which some observers say indicates the U.S. is prioritizing the cost-sharing issue in the upcoming meeting above all other matters.
Washington pressured Seoul further during the press briefing by giving details on a plan to potentially furlough 9,000 Korean workers on USFK bases.
You can read more at the link, but I continue to believe that nothing will get done on this until after April’s parliamentary elections. The Moon administration knows they are going to end up paying more and likely don’t want to give in on this issue until after the elections. If this is the case than the Korean workers on U.S. bases will be furloughed.
