Soldiers from South Korea’s 5th Engineer Brigade carry a simulated casualty from the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division while training at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, July 18, 2024. (Koo Siwon/U.S. Army)
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea — U.S. and South Korean representatives met Tuesday in Seoul for another round of negotiations to determine South Korea’s bill for maintaining an American troop presence for the next six years.
Officials from the U.S. State Department and Ministry of Foreign Affairs kicked off a three-day meeting in the capital city to renegotiate the Special Measures Agreement, a six-year cost-sharing contract to station 28,500 U.S. troops in the country, the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
The previous arrangement stipulated South Korea would spend around $900 million in 2020 and over $1 billion in 2021. The annual cost would then be raised based on a proportional increase in Seoul’s annual defense budget until the end of 2025.
Negotiations are proceeding under the premise that the cost will be set “at a reasonable level” for the “stable presence” of U.S. troops in South Korea, the ministry said. The current agreement expires at the end of 2025.
The latest round of discussions marks the seventh meeting since negotiators first met in Hawaii in April. Both sides “will endeavor to engage in productive consultations that strengthen the U.S.-[South Korea] combined defense posture and further solidify our alliance,” the U.S. Embassy in Seoul said in a March statement.
Linda Specht, lead negotiator for security agreements in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, represents Washington; Defense Burden Sharing representative Lee Taewoo has led the South Korean delegation.
South Korea spent an annual average of $1.45 billion over a four-year period starting in 2016. The U.S. earmarked an annual average of $3.3 billion for the same period, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.
Seoul’s budget includes costs for construction and the civilian workforce at U.S. bases in South Korea. Roughly $67 million was paid in June for two barracks to house 600 U.S. soldiers at Camp Humphreys, the largest military installation overseas.
South Korea’s share was a contentious subject during Donald Trump’s 2017-21 presidency. He said Seoul should spend $5 billion a year to maintain the U.S. troop presence.
