On Sunday, the United States (US) and South Korea announced that they had reached an agreement on cost-sharing for American troops that are stationed on the Korean Peninsula. Both countries are in the process of completing the final steps before signing of the agreement. The accord is expected to last through 2025 and now awaits the approval of the South Korean legislature. However, no major objections are expected.
“We are pleased that US and Republic of Korea negotiators have reached consensus on a proposed text of a Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that will strengthen our Alliance and our shared defence,” said a State Department spokesperson. Without providing further details regarding the terms of the deal, the spokesperson added that the deal included “a negotiated meaningful increase in host nation support contributions from the Republic of Korea.” The State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs said on Twitter that, if finalised, the deal would become “the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity for Northeast Asia.”
The 28,000 US soldiers that are stationed in South Korea work in tandem with the military of South Korea and United Nations Command member countries to act as deterrence against North Korea. Although American troops have been stationed on the peninsula for over seven decades, the two countries have had a cost-sharing agreement in place only since 1991. As per the terms of the existing deal, South Korea has been shouldering between 30-50% of the burden. In addition to troop upkeep, this also includes “costs for South Korean civilians hired by the US Forces Korea (USFK), construction of military installations, and logistics support.”
In December 2019, talks of the 11th SMA broke down between Seoul and the Trump administration after Washington demanded that Seoul pay five times more than what it was paying at the time, which would have resulted in Korea paying up to $5 billion every year. However, in a bid to strengthen the bilateral relationships of the US with its strategic allies, the Biden administration has taken a more flexible approach.
“America’s alliances are a tremendous source of our strength. This development reflects the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to reinvigorating and modernizing our democratic alliances around the world to advance our shared security and prosperity,” the State Department said in a statement regarding the deals signed by the Biden administration.
The statement was also made in reference to a similar security agreement signed by the US only two weeks ago that extend the US’ agreement with Japan, where 55,000 US soldiers are stationed, by discussing terms of the payments made from the Japanese side for the upkeep of the troops. According to the deal, Japan will pay $1.9 billion until March 2022. The agreement with Japan also came after talks between Tokyo and the Trump administration broke down after Trump asked Japan to quadruple its payments to $8 billion.
US and South Korea Reach Cost Sharing Agreement on US Troop Presence
The new accord between the US and South Korea is expected to last till 2025 and will expand the latter’s financial contribution towards supporting US troops stationed on the Korean peninsula.
March 8, 2021
SOURCE: REUTERS/CHUNG SUNG-JUN/POOL