hankyoreh

Chung Eun-bo (right), South Korea’s special envoy for defense cost-sharing negotiations with the US, and Donna Welton (left), the senior advisor for security negotiations and agreements in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the US State Department, pose for a portrait during their meeting Sunday in Washington. (provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Having gone over a year without progress amid unrealistic demands from the Donald Trump administration, negotiations on South Korea’s sharing of defense costs with the US were concluded just 46 days after Trump’s successor Joe Biden took office as US president.

The reason an agreement that should have been concluded in 2019 ended up being postponed for more than a year was because of the ridiculous pressure tactics applied by Trump, who demanded a 500 percent hike to South Korea’s share of defense costs.

As a candidate in last year’s election, Biden indicated that he planned to move quickly to reach a reasonable conclusion to the negotiations, characterizing Trump’s demands as “extortion.” Hopefully, this agreement can allow the South Korea-US alliance to be stronger and more equitable.

The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Sunday that the two sides had “reached an agreement in principle” on defense cost-sharing during a meeting in Washington.

The US State Department said the agreement included a “meaningful increase” in South Korea’s contributions, adding that it “reaffirms that the U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance is the linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity for Northeast Asia and a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

Neither government has yet disclosed the specifics of the agreement. The South Korean government plans to make it public this week following a National Security Council report and discussions as well as approval by President Moon Jae-in.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the agreement was a multi-year contract valid through 2025. If true, this is a positive step that addresses some of the uncertainties surrounding agreements in one-year increments.

With CNN reporting last month that the increase in South Korea’s share was very likely to be around 13 percent, many are now watching to see what level was finally decided upon. In March 2020, the two sides tentatively agreed to a plan that would increase South Korea’s share by 13 percent from 1.0389 trillion won (US$911 million) in 2019 — but that fell through when Trump rejected the deal.

It’s deeply unfortunate that South Korean employees of US Forces Korea (USFK) had to be forced into unpaid furloughs due to the delay in reaching an agreement — the result of Trump mistakenly perceiving the stationing of USFK as act of “generosity” by the US as opposed to something mutually beneficial.

Having declared that “America is back,” the Biden administration has been speeding up its efforts to strengthen alliances in Asia in a bid to contain China. It is currently coordinating a schedule for Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to visit Japan and South Korea next week.

Caught in the middle in the US-China rivalry, South Korea needs to make its principles clear and develop a well-thought-out response as the US goes about fleshing out its China containment strategy. We look forward to meaningful adjustments from the US as it works out its North Korea strategy with Seoul, which is pushing for a resumption of the Korean Peninsula peace process.

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]