Trump wants S Korea to double funding for US troops

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump is reportedly demanding South Korea pay as much as double its current funding for American troops stationed in South Korea, as Seoul and Washington negotiate how to shoulder defence costs in the coming years.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump wants South Korea to pay roughly double the current amount, equivalent to $1.6 billion per year for the next five years, citing sources familiar with the talks.

Other sources cited in the report say the Trump administration is pushing for 150 per cent of the current deal, or about $1.2 billion.

The current Specia l Measures Agreement, a f ive-yea r contract between the US and South Korea, is set to expire on December 31.

Under the agreement, South Korea is paying about 960 billion won ($ 854 mil lion) per year for the stationing of more than 28,500 American troops on the Korean peninsula.

Since 1991, the allies have held talks to draw up specialmeasures agreements on how they share the costs of stationing US troops in Korea across three sectors – payroll, construction and logistics – to support its stable presence and protect against North Korea’s military threats.

Trump has stepped up pressure on South Korea to pay p y a bigger share of the US defence costs on t he Korea n Peninsula, questioning uestioning why the US i s “s ubsid bsid i si ng ” it s a l l ie s’ milita ries. r ies.

But South Korean President Moon Jae-in has been telling local officia fficia ls he is not willing to pay more, according to the report, , and leaders of t he top f i ve pol ol it ic a l pa r t ies have reportedly edly sa id t hey ca nnot accept an increase, according to t he WSJ report.

Ot her er US diplomat ic a nd milita r y of f icia ls, i ncludi ncluding ng Defen s e S e c r e t a r y Ja mes Matt is s a nd Joi nt Chiefs of St a f f Cha i r ma n Gen. Jo Joe e Dunford, have t ried to conv i nce Tr ump p of t he i mporp t a n c e o f t h e a l l i - ance, apart f rom f i na ncia l conside r a t i o n s , a c c or d i ng t o t he report.

Seou l a nd Washi ng ton bega n a ne w round of negotiations in March to reach the next ag reement. They have held a t ot a l of n i ne meetings, but t he t wo c ou nt r ie s c ou ld not close t he gap on t he a mount Sout h Korea should pay, according to a South Korean of f icia l. Officials from South Korea and the US are set to hold another meetin meeting i n Seoul between Tuesday and Thur Thursday, during which they will seek to reac reach an agreement agreement. “Both sides h a v ve e m made efforts to narrow d di f f e re nces ove r major focal points, such as the total amount, amount,based on the results re of prior consultation sultations. We made partial progress, but we could not strike a final deal,” an official from the Foreign Ministry said on condition of anonymity after the ninth meeting held in Hawaii.

The friction comes as the allies seek to maintain a united front to achieve the denuclearisation of North Korea.

D e nu c l e a r i s a t i o n t a l k s bet ween t he US a nd Nor t h Korea have been sta lled over t hei r d i f fer enc e s on who shou ld ma ke a concession f i r st , wh i le Sout h Korea n President Moon Jae-in seeks to host North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Seoul to boost momentum for denuclearisat ion.