U.S., South Korea resume defense cost-sharing talks amid protests of
'robbery'
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[November 18, 2019]
By Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean and U.S.
officials resumed talks on Monday to narrow a $4 billion gap in how much
they want Seoul to pay for the cost of hosting the American military
amid public protests of "highway robbery" against sharply increased U.S.
demands.
U.S. President Donald Trump's demand that Seoul take on a greater share
of the cost of stationing 28,500 U.S. troops as deterrence against North
Korea has tested South Korea's confidence in the security alliance with
Washington.
Reports of Trump's $5 billion demand earlier this month were greeted
with shock in Seoul and on Monday, progressive groups protested at the
negotiation venue against what they said was "highway robbery" by
"greedy" Americans.
South Korea's negotiating team is led by a former top financial
regulator with experience in tough bargaining at times of crisis for
Asia's fourth-largest economy, unprecedented in fronting a non-military
expert in nearly 30 years of talks for the cost-sharing deals.
James DeHart, the chief U.S. negotiator, said there was a lot of work to
do but sounded a note of optimism as he arrived in South Korea on
Sunday.
"I'm very confident that we will reach an agreement that is mutually
acceptable, that both sides can support, and that will ultimately
strengthen our great alliance," he told reporters.
Monday's meeting marked the third round of talks for him and the second
for South Korea's Jeong Eun-bo, who was named to the job after the first
round in September. He was previously vice chairman of the Financial
Services Commission and a deputy finance minister.
"His metier is budget, payment. I think the (South Korean) government
decided that was the expertise needed this time," said a person who had
worked with Jeong, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity
of the ongoing talks.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and South Korean Defence Minister
Jeong Kyeong-doo hold a joint press conference after the 51st
Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Defence Ministry in Seoul
on November 15, 2019. Jung Yeon-je/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Jeong was involved in South Korea's debt negotiations with
international financial agencies during the 1998 Asian financial
crisis, and currency swap deals during the 2008 global financial
crisis, the person said.
A South Korean lawmaker said earlier this month that U.S. officials
had demanded up to $5 billion a year, more than five times the 1.04
trillion won ($896 million) Seoul agreed to pay this year.
South Korea "is a wealthy country and could and should pay more",
U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said after his meeting with
South Korea's Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo last week.
Trump has long railed against what he says are inadequate
contributions from allies towards defense costs. The United States
is due to begin separate negotiations for new defense cost-sharing
deals with Japan, Germany and NATO next year.
Trump has floated the idea of pulling U.S. troops from the Korean
peninsula, which remains in a technical state of war under a truce
that suspended the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea's Defense Ministry denied reports on some South Korean
YouTube channels that U.S. troops would be withdrawn or reduced.
Esper "reaffirmed the commitment to maintain the current level of
U.S. forces in Korea and to improve their combat readiness" last
week, the Defense Ministry press office said on its Twitter feed.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Ju-min Park;
Editing by Jack Kim and Lincoln Feast.)
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