US House of Representatives “Agree to quickly conclude defense cost negotiations…extra cost should be borne by Korea”

The US Congress urged the Joe Biden administration to settle a deal with South Korea for the defense cost share as soon as possible. Yet, it was stated that the two parties agreed that the ROK side should bear the increased cost of maintaining the US-Korea alliance. On the 5th (local time) ahead of the last minute negotiations between the chief executives of both sides in Washington

Congressman Ami Vera (Democratic), chairman of the Asia-Pacific subcommittee under the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee, and Republican secretary Steve Chaebot, in a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blincoln, said, “We need to conclude an acceptable comprehensive cost-sharing agreement as soon as possible.”

“We were encouraged by reports that the recent conclusion of the Korea-U.S. Defense Cost Share Special Agreement (SMA) negotiations was imminent.” “We support negotiations to match.”

The two lawmakers pointed out that the ROK-US should close the SMA negotiations quickly so that they can focus on other urgent tasks. “The House of Representatives has sent bipartisan support for expediting the SMA negotiations so that the ROK-US alliance can focus on responding to key national security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.” They cited the response, North Korea’s illegal weapons program, and the growing threat from China as the countermeasures.

The two lawmakers also added an opinion that increasing South Korea’s contribution to the sharing of ROK-US defense costs is a common position of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The two lawmakers said that the administration should take care of the long-term health of the ROK-US alliance. “Our common view that Korea can and should take on additional responsibilities and bear the increased burden of maintaining the alliance must be reflected in this agreement. It should be done,” he stressed.

The two lawmakers urged the Biden administration to continue to put the matter a priority so that the negotiations could be finalized before April 1. It was announced that April 1 was proposed as the deadline for the agreement to prevent unpaid leave for workers belonging to the USFK.

Ambassador Chung Eun-bo, who arrived in Washington DC for the last-minute negotiations with the US, said, “We will resolve the remaining issues through face-to-face meetings with correspondents at Ronald Reagan Airport.”

Ambassador Chung said, “We will try to make a reasonable and fair negotiation result acceptable to each other.”

Ambassador Chung will hold the ninth meeting on the 5th to sign the 11th SMA with Donna Welton, negotiating representative for the US Department of State’s defense cost sharing. In March of last year, the US and Korea temporarily agreed to increase the 2020 contribution by 13% from the previous year’s contribution (1.389 trillion won), but it was unsuccessful because it failed to obtain the approval of President Donald Trump.

CNN recently reported that there is a possibility that the ROK and the US will agree to a multi-year contract that will increase the defense cost share by 13%. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the ROK and the US were close to signing a five-year agreement.

Washington = Correspondent Park Hyun-young [email protected]