US and South Korea reach tentative agreement on new cost-sharing deal for US troops ahead of potential Trump victory

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CNN
 — 

The US and South Korea have reached a tentative new five-year cost-sharing agreement for US forces based in South Korea, the State Division introduced Friday, in a deal that will safeguard the long-running alliance forward of a possible victory by former President Donald Trump in November.

The present settlement doesn’t expire till the tip of 2025, however each side felt a way of urgency to perform the deal forward of a potential second Trump administration, two US officers and two former US officers aware of the discussions beforehand advised CNN. Negotiations over the Particular Measures Settlement, often known as the SMA, strained the alliance through the Trump administration, and the previous president demanded Seoul pay as much as 400% extra for the presence of the 28,500 US troops within the nation throughout negotiations over the present settlement.

Particular particulars in regards to the newly introduced settlement — together with its price, when it is going to be signed and when it’s going to go into impact — weren’t instantly launched. Matthew Miller, a State Division spokesman, stated in an announcement that the brand new settlement was reached after eight rounds of negotiations. It must be permitted by South Korea’s nationwide meeting, which is dominated by the opposition celebration to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and the US Congress has no position finalizing a deal on the American aspect.

Advocates argue that a major US troop presence within the Korean Peninsula is essential to strengthening the alliance between the 2 nations. The troops are necessary to each nations as a way to discourage any potential assault from North Korea as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to construct its nuclear arsenal and as a means of bolstering the US presence within the area to counter China’s aggression.

There was extra urgency to get the deal carried out earlier than the tip of the yr on the Korean aspect given the tumult of the earlier spherical of negotiations, officers stated. Some officers feared that getting an settlement carried out now may set off criticism from Trump, and they didn’t need the alliance to be within the former president’s line of fireside if he wins the election in November.

Underneath the current agreement, South Korea pays about $1 billion yearly, representing a rise of about 13.9% over earlier SMAs.

Trump administration officers largely negotiated the phrases of the final settlement, but it surely didn’t go impact till March 2021, simply months after President Joe Biden took workplace, which allowed Biden administration officers to make modifications that received the settlement to its ultimate state.

Throughout the preliminary part of the talks, CNN reported that Trump had requested South Korea to pay $4.7 billion a yr, a requirement that got here out of skinny air and despatched State and Protection Division officers scrambling to justify the quantity.

Earlier this yr, Trump stated that he didn’t suppose the South Korea is paying sufficient primarily based on the final settlement.

“They have been in a position to renegotiate with the Biden administration and produce that quantity means, means all the way down to what it was earlier than, which was nearly nothing,” Trump stated earlier this yr throughout an interview with Time. “Why would we defend any person? And we’re speaking a couple of very rich nation. However they’re a really rich nation and why wouldn’t they wish to pay?”

Some former US officers have warned South Korea to not transfer too shortly towards an settlement as a result of it may backfire if Trump leads to the White Home.

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