South Korea agrees to pay more to support US troops

(March 10) On Friday, Harry Harris US Ambassador to South Korea and the South Korean Foreign Minister signed a new cost-sharing agreement for US troops deployed in the country at a formal ceremony.

South Korea's share of costs increases significantly

The substantial increase in costs fits in with Trump's desire to have countries where US troops are deployed pay a much higher percentage of the costs. The agreement still has to be ratified by the South Korean parliament by a vote. While this is expected soon it has not been determined when as yet. Even before South Korea paid a larger portion of the costs of US troops deployed than most countries.

A recent article notes: "Instead of just demanding that nations pay more of the cost of the US military’s presence in their country, Trump is now insisting on 'cost plus 50.' To be specific, the administration wants 100 percent of the cost of US troop hosting to be covered by the other nation, and another 50 percent given to the US on top of that for the privilege of US troops being there. While South Korea had one of the more generous deals for the US, paying around half of the cost for the large number of troops there, the US pushed for, and got, a substantial increase to 80%. That was presented as a big win for Trump in negotiations, but can he really repeat this with everyone else?"

The new agreement with South Korea took months to negotiate

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang said the agreement was the result of hard and sometimes difficult work. He also said that the agreement was something the two countries could build upon to make their alliance stronger. The agreement follows upon criticism by Trump about the amount that South Korea pays toward US troop maintenance in the country.

Trump had said last year: “The reason I do not want military drills with South Korea is to save hundreds of millions of dollars for the U.S. for which we are not reimbursed."

He said the same thing after his failed meeting with Kim Jong UN of North Korea last week: “I was telling the generals — I said, 'Look, you know, exercising is fun and it's nice,' and they play the war games. And I'm not saying it's not necessary, because at some levels it is, but at other levels, it's not. But it's a very, very expensive thing. And you know, we do have to think about that too.”

Previously published in Digital Journal