"US-ROK Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiations Near Agreement on 5-Year Term"

WSJ Report... Negotiations Return to 5-Year Agreement from 1-Year Validity Period

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Reports from the U.S. media indicate that the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing for U.S. Forces Korea will be concluded with a validity period of five years.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 26th (local time) that the negotiation teams from South Korea and the U.S. are close to reaching an agreement on the SMA that includes a five-year validity period.

This means that the validity period, which was reduced to one year in the 10th defense cost-sharing agreement, will be extended back to five years as before. Extending the agreement's validity period is expected to reduce the fatigue associated with annual negotiations.

However, as negotiations enter the final stage, the newspaper reported that it remains uncertain whether the Biden administration will accept the conditions South Korea proposed to the Trump administration or demand slightly more.

It is known that South Korea proposed a 13% increase in the 2020 cost-sharing amount to the U.S. side.

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