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says the US government has shown considerable flexibility in recent weeks in the negotiations to share defense spending in the United States Forces Korea and hopes for further compromise from the South Korean government. It has put pressure on us to pay more than the amount proposed by the government.

Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung reports from Washington.

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US State Department spokesman reaffirmed the existing position that "Korea can and should contribute more to a more equitable share of defense spending."

"The United States has shown considerable flexibility in recent weeks to reach an acceptable agreement," he said. "I hope there will be further compromises from the Korean government."

Compared to the demand for nearly 5 billion dollars, which is 5 times the current level at the beginning of the negotiations, the United States has made concessions, so the government seems to be putting more pressure on it.

The ROK-US negotiating group was reported to have made a provisional agreement ahead of the unpaid leave of absence for Korean workers in the US Army in Korea on the 1st, but collapsed due to President Trump's opposition.

[Trump / President of the United States (Last 21st, White House Briefing): South Korea has given us a certain amount, but I declined. We are asking them to pay a large percentage of what we do.]

Ahn Gyu-baek, the chairman of the National Assembly's National Defense Commission, said the rate of increase raised by the Korean government in practical negotiations is between 13 and 14 percent this year.

The Department of Defense said it is discussing how the government will pay up to 70% of the wages in advance and give the United States the rest of the cost if negotiations are settled to assist US workers in South Korea who have lost wages.