South Korea, US prep early talks on defence costs ahead of election

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Some 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea as part of efforts to deter nuclear-armed North Korea. ― Reuters pic

SEOUL, March 5 ― South Korea and the United States have named envoys to launch a new early round of talks on ways to share the cost of keeping American troops in South Korea, the countries said today.

The appointment of South Korea's Lee Tae-woo and the United States' Linda Specht comes unusually early for a deal set to take effect in 2026, perhaps aimed at reaching agreement before the possible re-election of Donald Trump as US president.

Some 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea as part of efforts to deter nuclear-armed North Korea.

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South Korea began shouldering the costs of US deployments, used to fund local labour, the construction of military installations and other logistics support, in the early 1990s.

“Both delegations will endeavour to engage in productive consultations that strengthen the combined defence posture and further solidify our alliance,” the ministry and the US State Department said in a joint statement.

The early appointment was intended to “allow sufficient time in advance” to prepare but no date was set for a fresh round of talks, said Lim Soo-suk, a spokesman for South Korea's foreign ministry.

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“Looking at past cases, there were times when negotiations took quite a long time,” he told a briefing.

Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the November election, had during his presidency accused South Korea, a key Asian ally, of “free-riding” on US military might, and demanded that it pay as much as US$5 billion (RM23.7 billion) a year for the US deployment.

South Korean media have said the planned early talks on the Special Measures Agreement aim at extending a deal to 2026 and beyond, before any potential comeback by Trump.

The current agreement is set to expire in 2025, with negotiations on a successor pact usually held just before the end of the existing one.

During Trump's presidency, both sides had struggled for months to make progress, before reaching a deal when Seoul agreed to increase its contribution by 13.9 per cent, the biggest annual rise in nearly two decades.

Lee, a seasoned diplomat with experience in US and security affairs, previously served as consul-general in Sydney and deputy nuclear envoy for North Korea.

Specht is a senior adviser and lead negotiator for security pacts in the State Department's bureau of political and military affairs. ― Reuters