"Agreement on South Korea-US Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiations is for 6 Years"

Revealed in State Department Spokesperson Briefing

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. Department of State announced that the Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on the defense cost-sharing for U.S. Forces Korea between South Korea and the United States has been agreed upon with a validity period of six years.

Ned Price, spokesperson for the Department of State, said during a regular briefing on the 8th (local time) in response to questions about the SMA negotiation agreement, "The negotiation teams of the United States and South Korea have reached an agreement on the wording of a new six-year SMA," adding, "This will strengthen our alliance and joint defense."

A day earlier, the Department of State announced that an agreement had been reached in the SMA negotiations between South Korea and the U.S., but did not mention specific terms such as the amount or validity period, only stating that South Korea would bear a meaningful increase in cost-sharing.

Regarding this, The Wall Street Journal reported that the agreement was made with a validity period until 2026, while other foreign media reported that the agreement was made by adding five more years to the previously unagreed 2020 period, resulting in a six-year validity period.

Spokesperson Price did not mention further details such as the exact period or rate of increase, explaining, "The United States and South Korea are jointly advancing the final procedures necessary to complete the agreement for signing and enforcement."

When asked whether the U.S. demands were less strict than those of the previous administration, he responded, "South Korea is an ally," implying that unreasonable demands from the U.S. would not help strengthen the alliance.

He also said, "We engaged in negotiations in good faith and constructively," adding, "I believe that soon both sides will realize that this is an agreement beneficial to both."

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