South Korea, U.S. hold new round of defense cost-sharing talks

South Korea and the United States held a fresh round of negotiations in Hawaii this week on the sharing the cost for the upkeep of American troops on the peninsula, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.

South Korea's top negotiator, Jeong Eun-bo, and his U.S. counterpart, James DeHart, met in person for the first time.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with U.S. Forces Korea Commander General Vincent Brooks at the 8th Army Operational Command Centre at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, November 7, 2017. /VCG Photo

The two-day talks began in Honolulu on Wednesday (local time) focusing on how much South Korea should pay next year and beyond for the stationing of the 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops.

Seoul has suggested a "reasonable and equitable" share in response to Washington's call for a hefty rise in its contributions.

The allies have been under pressure to reach the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA), a bilateral cost-sharing deal, as the 10th SMA, struck in February, is set to expire on December 31.

This year's SMA requires South Korea to pay 1.04 trillion won (886 million U.S. dollars), an increase of 8.2 percent from the previous year.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has always been anxious about the U.S.'s troops in ROK and the two allies' joint military drills, which the country regards as threats. Pyongyang warned repeatedly that military interactions between U.S. and South Korea will affect nuclear talks between Pyongyang and Washington.

Pyongyang is set for Washington to come up with a new proposal in their denuclearization negotiations after the two sides restarted their working level talks on October 5 in Stockholm for the first time since the collapse of the second summit in February.

A motorcade carrying DPRK delegation heads for Villa Elfvik on the island of Lidingo off Stockholm, Sweden, October 5, 2019. /Reuters Photo

The meeting, however, broke down again as they failed to narrow differences, though Washington claimed it proposed "creative" ideas and had good discussions.

U.S., DPRK resume nuclear talks in Sweden, Pompeo says a lot of work to be done

A former top DPRK nuclear envoy said Thursday that he hopes to see the U.S. act "wisely" through the end of the year, referring to the deadline.

A foreign ministry adviser also voiced hope in a statement that "special" relations between the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump will create a "motive force" to remove challenges between the two countries going forward.