China News Agency, Washington, February 24 (Reporter Chen Mengtong) U.S. Secretary of Defense Esper met with visiting South Korean Secretary of Defense Zheng Jingdou at the Pentagon on the 24th. At a joint press conference after the conference, the US side continued to press the South Korean side on the issue of the US military ’s defense expenditure sharing in a deadlock in negotiations.

On February 24, local time, Washington, US Secretary of Defense Esper and South Korean Secretary of Defense Zheng Jingdou (right) met at the Pentagon. Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Mengtong

This is Espoo's first meeting with Zheng Jingdou at the Pentagon since taking office. The two sides discussed a series of issues including regional security, North Korea-related policies, and the transfer of wartime operational command. The US Department of Defense ’s press release on the same day directly titled “Esper Urges South Korea to Make More Contributions to Its Defense”.

The United States and South Korea held several rounds of talks last year for the Special Defense Cost Sharing Agreement (SMA), but the talks have reached an impasse due to the excessive increase in the South Korean share required by the United States. At the press conference, Esper and Zheng Jingdou reiterated the US-South Korea alliance, and each emphasized different positions.

"The cost of joint defense must fall disproportionately on US taxpayers," Esper said at a press conference. "We must find a more durable and fair solution to share the defense costs of both parties. South Korea can and should Its defense contribution is even more. "

Esper also said that if the two sides fail to reach an agreement on this issue, South Korean employees working in the US military base in South Korea will be suspended from pay to stay on April 1.

Zheng Jingdou said that the SMA negotiations between the two sides are currently at a standstill. The South Korean-US negotiating team should meet as much as possible to narrow the differences. He pointed out that South Korea and the United States must reach a defense cost sharing agreement at a "reasonable and fair" level as soon as possible, and the two sides should work together in a win-win and mutually beneficial direction.

South Korea's last SMA expired at the end of 2019. As the relevant funds will be exhausted on March 31, 2020, the US Army Command in South Korea issued a "potential suspension" notice to nearly 9,000 Korean employees at the end of January.

The US and South Korean Defense Minister also said on the same day that, due to concerns about the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the two sides are considering reducing the size of the US-ROK joint military exercise in early March.

Esper said that with the spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in South Korea, the commander of the US Army in South Korea and the chairman of the Joint Staff Headquarters of South Korea are discussing a plan to reduce the size of the joint military exercise.

Zheng Jingdou said that because the South Korea ’s new crown pneumonia epidemic was “quite serious”, the number of related exercises and the Korean army was shrinking, and the two sides would make correct decisions through close coordination.

Zheng Jingdou revealed that the South Korean army confirmed 13 new cases of new pneumonia on the 23rd. Currently, South Korea has cancelled military leave and closed military bases. At the same time, restrict unnecessary military operations across the country.

The US Army Command in South Korea issued a message on the 24th that a family member of the US Army in South Korea living in Daegu was diagnosed with new crown pneumonia. The command has raised the level of risk to "advanced" for all US military bases on the peninsula. (Finish)