South Korea, US sign new cost-sharing deal for US troops

Source: Associated Press

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
17 minutes ago

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea and the United States struck a new deal Sunday increasing the share of Seoul’s contribution for the cost of the U.S. military presence on its soil, official said, after previous rounds of failed negotiations caused worries about their decades-long alliance.

Last year, South Korea provided about $830 million, roughly 40 percent of the cost of the deployment of 28,500 U.S. soldiers whose presence is meant to deter aggression from North Korea. President Donald Trump has said South Korea should pay more.

On Sunday, chief negotiators from the two countries signed a new cost-sharing plan, which requires South Korea to pay about 1.04 trillion won ($924 million) in 2019, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It said the two countries reaffirmed the need for a “stable” U.S. military deployment amid “rapidly changing situation on the Korean Peninsula.” The ministry said the U.S. assured South Korea that it has solid security commitment for its ally and that it has no plans to readjust the size of its troops’ level in South Korea.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/128d6ec105e948e5ae476cad025cf29e

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Now South Korea will pay 44% of the bill instead of 40%, and Trump will claim victory, no doubt.