ROK-US chief representatives in negotiating defense cost sharingAn official at the US State Department said on the 10th (local time) that Korea made a meaningful contribution to the conclusion of the Korea-US defense share agreement, and evaluated it as a fair and balanced share.
The official said in a press briefing that took place over the phone that day, the settlement is the highest rate of share increase since 2004. “It is a great emphasis on the importance that both the US and Korea have placed on our alliance.
The two countries agreed to increase the share of USFK defense expenses this year by 13.9% from last year, reflecting the annual increase in defense expenses over the next four years. This is the highest since 25.7% of the 5th Agreement in 2002, which was the highest ever.
“In terms of the spirit of this friendship and the seriousness of the challenges ahead, we have found a fair and balanced cost-sharing,” the official said.
In addition, he pointed out that the increase rate is high compared to that the US has decided to extend Japan’s USFK defense expenditure contribution by one year from the current level.
Japan extended the terms of the previous agreement by one year in order to gain time to negotiate a multi-year agreement, which means that it cannot be directly compared with Korea, which has reached a six-year multi-year agreement.
The official explained that under the new defense cost share agreement, the share of the labor cost of Korean workers in the USFK is about 44%, which is consistent with the trend of 40-45% in the past.
“It is especially delightful that our most important alliance, Korea, has made this important first milestone achieved,” he said again, remarking the Biden administration’s key to revitalizing the alliance and the challenges it faces.
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