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ROK-US Defense Expense Share Negotiation Ambassador Jeong Eun-bo said, “I will try to resolve most of the issues in principle,” in relation to the SMA negotiations with the United States.
Ambassador Chung, who visited Washington DC for SMA negotiations, said on the 4th (local time), “There are issues, so I will try to resolve them as much as possible through a face-to-face meeting.”
He said, “Negotiation is difficult because we have to deal with a variety of issues and these things in a package with each other, so it is difficult to talk about specific details. I will try to make it possible.”
Regarding observations such as the previously known increase rate and application period, he said, “These are the contents of the most important negotiations, but since we are discussing other institutional aspects and such things, it is difficult to talk specifically about such various contents.” He added, “We are always discussing detailed matters or amendments to implement the special agreements.”
In addition, he said, “We have a detailed SMA agreement every five or three years, and there are various requirements that appear in operation in the process, so we discuss to reflect those parts continuously. I said.
Ambassador Chung said he hopes this will be the last, but that additional face-to-face negotiations may be necessary. Regarding the number of negotiations during the visit to the US, he said, “We plan to operate flexibly according to the situation.”
Regarding whether it is the procedure to close the negotiations, he repeatedly replied, “I will try to reach a settlement as soon as possible.”
On the 5th, Korea and the United States will hold the 9th meeting to conclude the 11th SMA with Ambassador Chung and Donna Welton, the US State Department’s defense cost sharing negotiator, each attending as chief representatives. It was held one month after the 8th meeting held on video on the 5th of last month, and this is the first in-person meeting after the inauguration of the US administration by Joe Biden.
In March last year, the ROK and the United States temporarily agreed on a plan to increase the contribution in 2020 from the contribution in 2019 (1.389 trillion won) by 13%, but the final agreement could not be reached due to the rejection of the then-president Donald Trump.
Negotiations, which had been stalemate, regained vitality after the inauguration of the Biden government, and there are observations that a settlement is imminent.
CNN predicted last month that Korea and the United States are likely to agree on a multi-year contract that will raise their defense cost share by 13%, and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reported that the two countries are close to signing a five-year agreement.
/ Reporter Kim Young-pil [email protected]
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