South Korea, US agree on new cost-sharing deal for troops

South Korea and the United States have agreed on a new arrangement for sharing the cost of the US troops stationed on the Korean peninsula, easing an irritant in ties between the two allies as they kicked off their annual joint military exercises.

In a statement on Monday, the South Korean foreign ministry said, the two sides had reached an agreement in principle after three days of face-to-face talks in Washington, DC but did not specify the agreed amount.

The proposed six-year Special Measures Agreement will replace the previous arrangement that expired at the end of 2019. It must still be approved by the South Korean legislature.

The South Korean foreign ministry said, by quickly sealing the deal, the government will address the absence of an agreement which continued for more than a year and contribute to strengthening the South Korea-US alliance, the linchpin of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.

A spokeswoman for the US Department of State said, the deal included a negotiated meaningful increase in host nation support contributions but gave no further details.

The US has about 28,000 troops in South Korea to help deter potential aggression from North Korea. But the cost for South Korea having a US military presence was a thorny issue in bilateral relations under former President Donald Trump’s administration, which often asked its Asian ally to drastically increase its share.

The Department of State said the deal reflected US President Joe Biden’s commitment to reinvigorating and modernising our democratic alliances around the world to advance our shared security and prosperity.