U.S., South Korea can't agree on sharing the bill after Trump's criticism

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters



DECEMBER 14, 2018 / 3:57 AM / UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

Hyonhee Shin
4 MIN READ

SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea have failed to agree on a bigger South Korean share of the cost of maintaining U.S. troops, an official said on Friday, as the U.S. military warned Korean workers they might be put on leave if no deal is reached.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that South Korea should bear more of the burden for keeping some 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea, where the United States has stationed forces since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Senior officials from both sides held three-day talks in Seoul from Tuesday to hammer out an accord to replace a 2014 deal due to expire this year, which requires South Korea to pay about 960 billion won ($850 million) this year.

Despite 10 rounds of negotiations since March, the two sides struggled to reach an agreement after the United States demanded a sharp increase, South Korean officials said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-southkorea-military/u-s-south-korea-cant-agree-on-sharing-the-bill-after-trumps-criticism-idUSKBN1OD0UW

[Iliyah]

1. Ugh

[Roy Rolling]

2. Everything Has a Price Tag to Trump

South Korean businesses benefiting from having a U.S. military base is the price America pays for having a base in a foreign country.

Trump wants South Korea to pay for the privilege of having a bullseye on its country by foreign actors who wish to attack the U.S.

Worst deal maker in history. He breaks the deals that are working and can't make the new deals needed for America to continue as the most powerful country in the world.

[RKP5637]

3. tRump, is a lousy businessman and deal maker. He would have been booted out of a corporation

long ago as a total failure.

[soryang]

4. trying to force operational costs onto South Korea for units

...operating outside Korea.,

When the cost of the latest US aircraft carrier is over 13 billion dollars to construct, and the latest destroyer class costs 3 billion a copy because of corrupt and unaccountable acquisition processes, the answer for the US is to attempt to force other elements of its unsustainable military costs onto allies, so the defense contractors can continue their outrageous demands on the US economy.

South Korea isn't going to pay for strategic operations of the US outside the peninsula.

Originally the US demanded twice the current support costs from Seoul.