South Korea and the United States began a new round of negotiations Tuesday on sharing the costs for stationing American troops here.
The three-day talks through Thursday are aimed at determining how much Seoul should shoulder for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), starting in 2026.
The talks were led by Lee Tae-woo, South Korea’s chief negotiator from the foreign ministry, and his U.S. counterpart, Linda Specht from the State Department.
The first round of the talks took place in Hawaii last month.
The launch of the talks came earlier than planned, amid the view that Seoul wants an early deal to avoid potentially tough bargaining with Washington in case former President Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Washington under Trump’s presidency had demanded more than a fivefold increase in Seoul’s payment to US$5 billion.
https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20240521001251315?section=national/diplomacy