US-Korea New Defense Cost-Sharing Talks to Be Held in Hawaii from 23rd to 25th

Lee Tae-woo, Chief Negotiator for the Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on Defense Cost-Sharing Photo by Yonhap News

South Korea and the United States will begin negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) for the defense cost-sharing of U.S. Forces Korea, which will be applied from 2026, starting on the 23rd.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 22nd that the first meeting for the conclusion of the 12th Korea-U.S. Special Measures Agreement will be held from the 23rd to the 25th in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

On the Korean side, Lee Tae-woo, the chief negotiator for the Korea-U.S. defense cost-sharing negotiations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will lead the delegation, which includes officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Defense Acquisition Program Administration. On the U.S. side, Linda Specht, Senior Advisor at the State Department, will serve as the chief negotiator, with officials from the State Department, Department of Defense, and U.S. Forces Korea attending.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "The government plans to proceed with consultations under the position that Korea’s defense cost-sharing should be conducted at a reasonable level to ensure stable conditions for the stationing of U.S. Forces Korea and to strengthen the Korea-U.S. combined defense posture."

The SMA is an agreement that stipulates the amount South Korea will bear for the costs of stationing U.S. Forces Korea. Korea’s contributions are used for personnel costs (wages for Korean employees of U.S. Forces Korea), military construction costs (facility construction within U.S. military bases), and logistics support costs (services and material support).

The 11th SMA, which applies for six years from 2020 to 2025, was finalized in 2021. The defense cost-sharing amount set at that time was 1.1833 trillion won, with a decision to increase it annually reflecting the rise in defense spending.

The rapid start of new negotiations about one year and eight months before the expiration of the 11th SMA is interpreted as a move considering the possibility of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election in the U.S. presidential election this November.

During his first term, former President Trump demanded that South Korea increase its cost-sharing by more than five times. However, negotiations within the Joe Biden administration are also expected to be challenging.

The U.S. is expected to seek an increase in the cost-sharing, citing the stable stationing environment of U.S. Forces Korea and the strengthening of the combined defense posture. Meanwhile, South Korea is expected to respond with a stance of "reasonable level of defense cost-sharing."