Cost of US troops in South Korea renegotiated

Cost of US troops in South Korea renegotiated

South Korea and the US began a new round of negotiations on Tuesday concerning the shared cost of American troops deployed in the Asian country. (Xinhua/Kulumbegashvili Tamuna/IANS)

Seoul, Sep 24 (IANS) South Korea and the US began a new round of negotiations on Tuesday concerning the shared cost of American troops deployed in the Asian country.

The two-day talks is the first in a series of meetings in which both sides seek an agreement to replace the existing pact which expires in December, Efe news reported.

The South Korean delegation comprised officials from the Foreign, Finance and Defence Ministries, while the US team includeD officials from the State Department and the Pentagon, the Foreign Ministry here said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump has complained about the costs of deploying American troops in the region's key countries such as South Korea and Japan in exchange for providing them a security umbrella, calling them excessive.

On Monday, Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed the matter on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Pressure from Washington has already led Seoul to agree to pay more than 1 trillion won ($862 million) this year to keep the 28,500 US troops in South Korea to defend the country against a possible attack from North Korea.

This is 8.2 per cent more than what it paid in 2018.

The South Korean government said it would seek to maintain its share of the costs to keep the troops to a "fair and reasonable" level.

--IANS

niy/ksk