U.S. Walks Out of Military Cost-Sharing Talks With South Korea

[still_one]

The U.S. walked out of military cost-sharing talks with South Korea, after the key American ally balked at President Donald Trump’s demands for a five-fold funding increase.


The chief U.S. negotiator, James DeHart, said that the American side cut short talks planned for Tuesday in Seoul because the South Koreans “were not responsive to our request for fair and equitable burden-sharing.” The South Korean foreign ministry said it had expected to discuss “an acceptable range for both counterparts” based on past cost-sharing discussions.

Jeong Eun-bo, who led the South Korean delegation, separately told reporters that talks ended when his American counterparts “left their seats first,” adding the two sides had “quite a big difference in principle.” The current cost-sharing agreement reached earlier this year expires at the end of 2019.


The breakdown raises new questions about one of the U.S.’s closest military alliances and a key piece of the Pentagon’s strategy for countering North Korea and a rising China. Trump sent a high-powered mission led by Defense Secretary Mark Esper to Seoul last week to try to convince President Moon Jae-in’s government to pay more for hosting U.S. troops.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-19/u-s-south-korea-military-talks-break-down-over-trump-demands

[dalton99a]

1. Fellating dictators and pissing off allies

Putin chose well

[Iliyah]

2. shithole and crew hate democratic countries . . .

[tblue37]

3. Walking out is Trump's main negotiating techniques, according to his boasts. nt

[Javaman]

4. he's such a petty and disgusting little thing. nt

[maryellen99]

5. I'm fully expecting him to pull our troops out of SK

And then NK will invade SK shortly after that.

[Bettie]

11. I expect that too

as part of his "burn it all down" exit.

[pecosbob]

6. In my neighborhood they call this a shakedown or extortion.

[still_one]

7. wow

[pecosbob]

9. Did I just post something really stupid?

[still_one]

10. not at all. I just had the impression from your comment that you live in a tough environment

[pecosbob]

12. Yeah, I usually get the odd death threat every couple of weeks or so from drunks or drug users

I work late nights in a 24-hour joint in Vegas...the only place in the country that I'm aware of that sells liquor twenty four hours a day. I keep a ball bat behind the counter. But it's not people such as myself that are being victimized.

The predation I referenced is mostly of first generation immigrants that are routinely victimized by anyone that wishes to do so, including the local police; Salvadorenos, Guatemalans and Hondurans mostly. The latest, largest wave of new immigrants here in Las Vegas are Filipino and I hope they don't repeat the same victimization of their own I saw happen with Vietnamese immigrants in Houston years ago.

[still_one]

14. Appreciatge the perspective. Take care

[TeamPooka]

8. He wants North Korea to take them over.

[EX500rider]

13. While the demand does seem ridiculous on the other hand I don't think they really need our help any

more.

South Korea's military budget is larger then the entire GDP of North Korea and SK now is a world class producer of military weapons.