Shuttle Negotiations on ROK-US Defense Cost Sharing Stuck... 'New Readiness Item' VS 'Negotiation Cycle'

No Conclusion After 6 Negotiations, Agreement Gap... Ambassador Jeong Eun-bo "Differences Still Remain"
7th Negotiation Scheduled in Seoul

Jeong Eun-bo, the Special Representative for U.S.-Korea Defense Cost-Sharing Talks, is giving a briefing on the U.S.-Korea defense cost-sharing negotiations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 19th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Despite six rounds of 'shuttle negotiations' conducted amid the gap in the Korea-US Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing, the Korean and US delegations have struggled to find common ground. The two sides are firmly at odds over the defense cost items and the negotiation cycle. The schedule for the 7th round of negotiations, to be held in Seoul, has yet to be confirmed.

According to related government departments on the 24th, the US delegation, led by James DeHart, the US State Department's chief negotiator for defense cost-sharing, insists on increasing the total amount by adding new defense cost-sharing items. Meanwhile, the Korean delegation is engaged in a tense tug-of-war over maintaining the existing SMA framework while extending the negotiation cycle to 3 to 5 years.

Defense Cost-Sharing Ambassador Jeong Eun-bo, who met with reporters before and after the negotiations held on the 14th and 15th, said the talks are moving toward a settlement but “there are still differences,” reflecting the current situation. The US side is demanding the establishment of a so-called 'readiness' item, which includes costs for US Forces Korea's offshore training and rotational deployment.

The US delegation is focused on maximizing the increase in defense cost contributions. Analysts interpret the sudden proposal of items not included in the existing SMA, such as costs for the US military's rotational deployment on the Korean Peninsula and offshore training, as an attempt to justify the increase in defense costs. The US initially demanded more than a fivefold increase from the 1.0389 trillion won contribution under the 10th SMA for the 11th SMA, but it is reported that this figure has been lowered after six rounds of negotiations. Some speculate that the increase rate has been narrowed down to single digits. The contribution decided in the 10th SMA was an 8.2% increase compared to 2018.

Korea is focusing on finding practical benefits amid the inevitable increase in contributions. It appears necessary to include an extension of the negotiation cycle while maintaining the existing SMA framework in this round of talks. In the 10th SMA negotiations, the US's last-minute demand for a slightly reduced contribution amount in exchange for changing the negotiation cycle to one year drew considerable criticism.

A diplomatic source said, “While the scale of the increase is important, the Korean delegation seems likely to conclude an agreement to extend the negotiation cycle beyond the one year set previously,” adding, “The US needs an increase that can be politically leveraged, while Korea needs to reduce the burden of contributions by changing the negotiation cycle to 3 to 5 years.”

Some expect that the recent decision to dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz may indirectly influence the negotiations. The Korean delegation has conveyed to the US side Korea’s contributions to the Korea-US alliance. Although the Korean delegation has repeatedly emphasized that additional arms purchases and the dispatch to the Strait of Hormuz have never been mentioned in the negotiations, making it highly unlikely that these issues will be linked, analysts suggest that the weight of justification and logic could shift.

Civil society groups opposing the U.S. demand for increased defense cost-sharing held a rally on the 18th in front of the Korea Defense Research Institute in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.