Politics
16:15, 16-Oct-2018
Seoul, Washington start talks to share cost of US forces stationed in S. Korea
Updated
15:10, 19-Oct-2018
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S. Korea and the United States on Tuesday began discussing how to share the defense costs of US forces stationed in S. Korea, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
The two-day negotiations were launched in central Seoul to reach a new deal on S. Korea's financial contribution to the US Forces Korea (USFK).
The negotiation period can be extended, if necessary, as the current deal was set to expire by the end of this year, the Seoul ministry said.
In consideration of the time needed for parliamentary approval, the talks are required to be finished by the end of this month.
South Korea paid about 960 billion won (850 million US dollars) this year to share cost for the US troops stationed here, but the US side demanded raising the share to as much as 1.5 trillion won (1.3 billion US dollars), according to local media reports.
About 28,500 US troops are stationed in S. Korea as a legacy of the Korean War, which ended with an armistice in 1953.
The S. Korean side was led by Chang Won-sam, a career diplomat who served as ambassador to Sri Lanka, and the US side was headed by Timothy Betts, deputy assistant secretary of state for plans, programs and operations.
(Top Photo: US soldiers move ahead of a grand opening ceremony of the new headquarters building for the United Nations Command and US Forces Korea at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek on June 29, 2018. /VCG Photo)
Source(s): Xinhua News Agency