Korea-US defense cost sharing agreement concluded… WSJ “6 Year Old”-Chosunbiz> Current Events> Politics

Input 2021.03.08 06:43 | Revision 2021.03.08 08:09

The Korea-US defense cost share negotiations were concluded in about a year.

On the 8th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a press release and announced that the 11th Korea-US Special Agreement to Share Defense Costs (SMA) had been concluded. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that “by promptly signing an agreement, we will resolve the gap in the agreement that has lasted for more than a year, and contribute to strengthening the ROK-US alliance and the combined defense posture, which is a key axis of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.”

The US State Department also announced in a statement that the two countries have reached a principle agreement in the defense cost sharing negotiations. The State Department said the agreement included a’significant increase’ from the Korean side. It was also said to show the Biden administration’s promise to revitalize and modernize a democratic alliance.

However, neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the US State Department revealed details of the agreement, including the rate of increase. However, CNN reported last month that there is a possibility that the two countries will agree on a multi-year contract that will increase the defense cost share by 13%.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ROK and the United States are planning to proceed with an appointment to announce external announcements and sign an ante-mortem agreement after completing the internal reporting process. As Secretary of State Tony Blincoln and Defense Minister Lloyd Austin will be coordinated to visit Korea around the 17th and 18th, the final sign is likely to take place in Korea.

The ROK and the US began the 11th SMA negotiations in September 2019. In March last year, a tentative agreement was reached on a plan to increase the share of Korea in 2020 by 13% from 1.38.9 trillion won in 2019, but the final agreement was not reached as former President Donald Trump insisted on a significant increase. However, as the newly elected President Biden accepted most of the negotiations, the negotiations quickly went on.

Ambassador Chung Eun-bo visited Washington DC to negotiate with the US, led by Donna Welton, the US State Department’s defense cost-sharing negotiator. Ambassador Chung was initially scheduled to return to his country on the 7th, but he had delayed his return schedule to this day as he decided to extend the negotiations by one day. As a result, it was observed that it had entered the last minute tuning.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) cited a local source, saying that South Korea and the United States had agreed in a defense share agreement, saying, “A new agreement that will last until 2026 will increase South Korea’s share.”