Vice Foreign Minister: "US Requests Increased Defense Spending from Several Countries...Proceeding with Close Consultations"

Park Yoonjoo, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented on June 20 regarding the South Korea-US defense cost-sharing, saying, "It is true that the United States is basically requesting an increase in defense spending from several countries," and added, "We will closely examine the details and proceed with thorough consultations."

Park Yoonjoo, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Appearing on Yonhap News TV that day, Vice Minister Park responded to related questions in this manner. Previously, there were reports that the US Department of Defense was demanding defense cost-sharing from its Asian allies at a level equivalent to 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP). The current level is 2.54%, so this would mean nearly doubling the amount. However, Vice Minister Park refrained from elaborating, saying, "It is difficult to address every detail of the related reports."

Regarding the recent failed attempt at a South Korea-US summit between President Lee Jaemyung and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit, Vice Minister Park explained, "The two leaders had agreed to meet at an early date, and it would have been good if they could have met on this occasion. However, I understand that President Trump returned to the United States due to urgent issues that the US needed to manage, such as the Middle East situation." He added, "Inevitably, the bilateral summit could not take place, and the US side conveyed its understanding through various channels." He further stated, "I would like to interpret this positively, as it has created a good background for another meeting at a different opportunity."

In this context, there are expectations that efforts will be renewed to hold a South Korea-US summit on the occasion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, which will be held in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24-25 next week. Regarding President Lee's possible attendance at the NATO summit, Vice Minister Park said, "At this stage, we are monitoring various circumstances, and if a decision is made, we will provide a detailed explanation."

Regarding the first South Korea-Japan summit since President Lee took office, Vice Minister Park assessed, "We strongly felt Japan's willingness to improve relations, and since both countries value the strategic aspect of South Korea-Japan relations and also emphasize South Korea-US-Japan cooperation, this was a good first step." He also expressed hope, saying, "We look forward to reciprocal visits by the leaders of both countries through mutual coordination."