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The sixth round of negotiations for the 11th Special Measures Agreement in Washington, DC, on Jan. 15. (provided by MOFA)

While South Korea and the US held their sixth round of negotiations to conclude their defense cost-sharing agreement, the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), in Washington, DC, on Jan. 14-15, they were unable to narrow their differences. This was the first meeting held since the previous agreement (the 10th SMA) expired at the end of 2019, suggesting that no valid agreement will be in place for some time.

“While the two teams of negotiators, respectively headed by Jeong Eun-bo of South Korea and James DeHart of the US State Department, broadened the scope of their mutual understanding and expanded consensus during the sixth meeting, they also confirmed their differences,” South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on Jan. 16.

MOFA added that the two sides had “agreed to remain in close consultation so as to contribute to the ROK-US alliance and their joint defense stance and to minimize the gap in the agreement through swiftly concluding the negotiations.”

During this round of negotiations, the two sides appear to have continued tussling over their respective contributions to the alliance. Responding to some media reports claiming that the two sides were discussing a “two-track” approach that would fold some of the US’ demands into South Korea’s defense budget, rather than into the SMA itself, MOFA released a statement declaring that “there was no discussion about adding a specific project to the budget of the Ministry of National Defense at a later date.” However, some analysts think it’s possible that the two sides will move toward a compromise in which the rate of South Korea’s cost-sharing burden is kept at an “appropriate level” in exchange for Seoul greatly boosting its purchases of American-made weaponry.

“During the negotiations, our team is discussing the need for the fair assessment of South Korean contributions to the alliance made through direct and indirect support, separately from the SMA,” said Kim In-cheol, MOFA spokesperson, in the daily press briefing. Previously, Jeong had cited South Korea’s large-scale purchases of American-made weapons as an example of an alliance contribution. During the decade between 2009 and 2018, South Korea bought US$6.27 billion worth of US armaments, ranking fourth in the world.

The two sides are reportedly considering the idea of holding the 7th round of negotiations in Seoul at the end of this month. There’s not much time to wrap up the negotiations: the previous agreement has already expired, the new deal will have to be ratified by the National Assembly, and parliamentary elections are scheduled [for April].

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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