US asks South Korea to pay portion of costs for deployment of strategic assets to Korean Peninsula

Posted on : 2018-04-15 08:26 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Request likely to be a key point of contention in advance of signing defense cost-sharing agreement
Ministry of Foreign affairs defense cost sharing negotiation representative Jang Won-sam speaks with US State Department official Timothy Betts prior to their second meeting to discuss the 10th South Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) at the International Peace Center in Seogwipo
Ministry of Foreign affairs defense cost sharing negotiation representative Jang Won-sam speaks with US State Department official Timothy Betts prior to their second meeting to discuss the 10th South Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) at the International Peace Center in Seogwipo

The US asked South Korea to pay a portion of the expenses for the deployment of strategic US assets on the Korean Peninsula, it was recently confirmed. In particular, Seoul was asked to cover a portion of the costs for strategic assets including nuclear-powered aircraft carriers used on the peninsula by the US for various exercises, long-range B-1B Lancer bombers, and other strategic weaponry.

After attending a second meeting on Jeju Island on Apr. 11–12 to discuss the 10th South Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing, a senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said on Apr. 13 that the US had “brought up the issue of costs for the deployment of strategic assets during the discussions.”

“We have continued to emphasize our basic position on this matter, which is that the defense cost-sharing agreement is about the costs of stationing US Forces Korea,” the official added.

When asked by a reporter whether the US demanded that South Korea pay “nearly all” of the strategic asset deployment costs, the official replied in the negative. The official also said no specific mention had been made of the costs for USFK’s deployment of the THAAD missile defense system. The sharing of costs for the deployment of US strategic assets was predicted to be one of the main points of contention ahead of the 10th SMA’s signing.

In terms of the deployment of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean side appears to have stressed its position that sharing of costs is unacceptable because it falls outside the scope of supporting USFK stationing expenses. The defense contribution represents South Korea’s share of stationing costs for USFK, including personnel costs for South Korean workers hired by USFK, construction costs for various USFK facilities, and logistical support for USFK ammunition storage and other areas.

For a second time after the first SMA meeting in Hawaii last month, opinions were exchanged on the total defense cost shares proposed by each side. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs senior official avoided mentioning the specific amount, but said there was a “large gap to be bridged” in terms of the totals suggested by either side. Observers in and around the diplomatic community previous speculated the US’s requested total during the talks would range between 1.3 trillion won (US$1.21 billion) and 1.8 trillion won (US$1.68 billion), or nearly double the 2017 share of 950.7 billion won (US$88.2 million), but no amount has been confirmed to date.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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