SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea announced Wednesday that it agreed to increase its share of the cost of the US military presence by 13.9 percent this year to address an ongoing dispute within the Alliance ahead of a joint visit by Eliminate Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.
Differences in how the cost of maintaining 28,500 American troops in South Korea was divided has kept the Allies at odds for years. The issue was particularly controversial under former President Donald J. Trump, who demanded that South Korea increase its payments drastically – up to five times, according to some reports. Even when warming up for North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, Trump often accused South Korea of being allowed to freeload American military power.
Negotiations lasted a year and a half, but made progress after President Biden took office and pledged to re-establish alliances around the world.
Over the weekend, the United States and South Korea agreed on a five-year contract to increase military payments, subject to legal approval in both capitals. Under the deal, South Korea will pay $ 1 billion this year, 13.9 percent more than its annual payments in 2019 and 2020, officials said on Wednesday. From next year through 2025, South Korea will increase its stake annually at the same rate as it is increasing its defense budget – averaging 6.1 percent per year through 2025.
“South Korea and the United States have demonstrated the resilience of the solid alliance by smoothly addressing the important issue of the upcoming alliance early after the start of the Biden administration,” the South Korean State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.
Since the Korean War of 1950/53, South Koreans have viewed the American military presence as an integral part of their defense against North Korea. But Mr Trump’s request for a drastic increase irritated many and raised questions about Washington’s commitment to defending its ally.
North Korea has long fought for the withdrawal of American troops, arguing that the threat they posed, including their joint war games with the South Korean military, had compelled them to develop nuclear weapons.
Mr Trump met three times with North Korea’s Leader Kim Jong-un to attempt to end the north’s nuclear weapons program while the Allies suspended or reduced their joint military exercises in support of diplomacy. Mr Trump shocked many in South Korea, especially conservatives, by calling such exercises “enormously expensive” and “very provocative” in the Korean peninsula.
Mr Trump’s diplomacy with Mr Kim collapsed without an arms control deal with North Korea, whose nuclear and missile capabilities increased during Mr Trump’s tenure. Nonetheless, the United States and South Korea have significantly reduced the scope of this year’s spring military exercise, which began Monday, and ran it as a computer simulation with little troop movement. South Korea said the exercise was minimized this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a desire to keep the diplomatic dynamic with North Korea alive.
How to get North Korea back to the negotiating table will be a central theme when Mr Blinken and Mr Austin visit South Korea next Wednesday and Thursday and meet President Moon Jae-in and other senior South Korean officials. North Korea has yet to respond to its planned visit or the joint Washington-Seoul military exercise.
Mr. Blinken’s trip, which will include a visit to Tokyo prior to his trip to Seoul, was to “reaffirm the United States’ commitment to strengthening our alliances and highlighting cooperation that will bring peace, security and prosperity to the Indo-Pacific region and Environment promotes the world, “the State Department said in a statement.
Mr. Moon, the South Korean President, has emphasized the importance of the alliance with Washington while trying to maintain his country’s robust trade ties with China.
He is also a passionate advocate of diplomacy with North Korea and helped organize the summits between Mr Trump and Mr Kim. A breakthrough in the denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang would ease political détente on the Korean peninsula and help realize his dream of strengthening economic ties between the two Koreas.
Mr. Moon’s administration hopes the Biden administration will pursue the diplomacy started by Mr. Trump rather than reverting to former President Obama’s policy of “strategic patience” which focused on bruising North Korea with sanctions.
After his diplomacy with Mr Trump failed to lift sanctions against his country, Mr Kim vowed to continue advancing his country’s nuclear capabilities, stating that it would build new solid fuel ICBMs and make its nuclear warheads lighter and more precise.
