Trump Rejects Proposal to Increase South Korea's Defense Cost-Sharing by 13%

Officials: "Negotiation Settlement Uncertain Beyond Summer and US Presidential Election"
US Korea Expert Criticizes, "Our Troops Are Not Mercenaries"

On the afternoon of the 1st, members of the National Korean Workers' Union of the U.S. Forces in Korea shouted slogans urging the normalization of unpaid leave in front of the main gate of Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province.
The government estimates that about 4,000 of the approximately 8,600 Korean workers employed by the U.S. Forces in Korea, roughly half, have started unpaid leave from this day due to the breakdown of the Korea-U.S. Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Reports have emerged that U.S. President Donald Trump rejected South Korea's proposal to increase the defense cost-sharing payment for U.S. Forces Korea by at least 13%.

On the 10th (local time), major foreign media reported that President Trump rejected this proposal made by South Korea during the negotiations on the Korea-U.S. Special Measures Agreement (SMA), making it unlikely that an agreement will be reached in the near future.

According to sources, President Trump's decision was made after consultations with U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

An anonymous South Korean official commented, "If we proposed an increase of about 13%, it is not a small amount." Initially, it was reported that the U.S. pressured South Korea by demanding $5 billion, far exceeding the existing South Korean defense cost-sharing amount of 900 billion won.

Regarding this, a U.S. official stated, "We are also very disappointed that a mutually acceptable level of negotiation settlement has not been reached." Another official said, "President Trump maintains the position that South Korea and other allies should contribute more."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A U.S. source predicted, "It is difficult to reach an agreement before South Korea's general election, and the current situation may continue until November when the U.S. presidential election takes place after summer."

Ahead of the scheduled start of unpaid leave for Korean workers of U.S. Forces Korea on the 1st, the two countries held negotiations last month in Los Angeles, U.S. Afterwards, there was speculation from the South Korean side that a settlement was imminent. Ambassador Jeong Eun-bo, the SMA negotiator, publicly mentioned that significant progress had been made in many areas, raising expectations that the two countries would sign the agreement. It was also reported that Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Secretary Pompeo held a phone call to conduct final adjustments, raising the possibility of a settlement. However, as no conclusion came from the U.S. side, speculation arose that President Trump may have thrown a wrench in the works. In this regard, the U.S. Department of Defense and State Department have stated that "negotiations are still ongoing."

Bruce Klingner, a Korea expert at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a column published in National Interest (NI) on the same day, "Excessive demands reduce alliance relationships to mere transactional deals. Alliances cannot be measured in dollars, and America's brave soldiers are not mercenaries."

He particularly criticized, saying, "The U.S. Forces Korea slogan, recognized as a symbol of the Korea-U.S. alliance, 'We go together,' cannot become 'We only go together when you pay money.'"