FM says 'US asks too much in defense cost-sharing'

The United States is making a "far more excessive" level of demands in the ongoing defense cost-sharing talks with South Korea, Seoul's Foreign Minister Kang Kyungwha said Thursday.

"It is true that the U.S. is making a much higher level of demands than before, so preparing a pan-governmental strategy is crucial for the allies to narrow their differences on the issue," she told reporters in a regular press conference at the ministry's headquarters in downtown Seoul.

This is the first time a high-level government official confirmed that Washington was asking South Korea to sharply increase its share of the costs for housing 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) troops here. Some South Korean anti-American students broke into the residence of the U.S. ambassador to South Korea in Seoul last week in protest of Washington's demands for South Korea to pay hugely.

For two days from Thursday (KST), delegations from Seoul and Washington kicked off their second round of talks on the 11th Special Measures Agreement to determine the level of cost-sharing for 2020. The current contract is due to expire Dec. 31.

"It is not proper for us to judge whether the U.S. position is logical or illogical, but the 11th SMA will be a tough negotiation," Kang said. "We will analyze and evaluate the results of the discussion to bridge the gap between the two."

Washington has reportedly asked Seoul to increase its payment to around $5 billion (5.86 trillion won) for next year, citing multiple reasons, such as the joint military exercises and the deployment of strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula, according to reports.

The foreign minister declined to comment on details over the negotiation, only reiterating the government's general position that it would renew the contract on the basis of fairness.

"Our basic position is that the 11th SMA should also be carried out under a similar context of the previous SMAs. We will make a fair and equitable agreement on cost-sharing with the United States," she said.

The two sides missed last year's deadline but agreed in February this year on a stopgap plan that required South Korea to pay 1.04 trillion won, up 8.2 percent from a year ago. Jeong Eunbo leads the South Korean team in the talks with his U.S. counterpart, James DeHart.

During the press conference, Kang also acknowledged that the outlook for inter-Korean relations remains uncertain in the foreseeable future, especially after North Korean leader Kim Jongun's recent order to remove all South Korean facilities in the North's Mount Geumgang resort.

"The foreign ministry needs to analyze Kim's remarks in more detail, but the decision is seen as part of the North's ｅxpression of frustration and disappointment over the suspension of the inter-Korean tour program to the mountain," Kang said. "We are going to make thorough preparations for how Kim's decision will affect South Korean nationals' property rights, there."

But Kang remained hopeful the inter-Korean dialogue will proceed in line with international consensus.

"We pushed for the inter-Korean dialogue in the framework of the international sanctions on the North," she said. "We cannot manage the framework of the sanctions on our own, as it requires a collective opinion from the international society. To drive the consensus from the global community, the North's forward-looking measures for denuclearization are crucial."