China News Service, August 20. According to a report by South Korean Radio International (KBS) on the 20th, the South Korean government and the newly appointed representatives of the US defense defense negotiations have recently begun consultations. However, the positions of the two sides still differ.
According to news from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, South Korean negotiator Jeong Eun-fu and the new U.S. defense cost-sharing negotiator Donna Welton (Donna Welton) have negotiated the "Special Defense Cost-sharing Agreement" through telephone calls and emails since early August.
Wilton, who was formally appointed on August 3, is not only responsible for negotiations with South Korea, but also the person in charge of defense negotiations with Japan and other countries where US troops are stationed.
According to the report, although South Korea and the United States reached a consensus on maintaining communication to resolve the issue of defense costs as soon as possible, there are still differences of opinion on the content of the specific negotiations. Since 2019, South Korea and the United States have conducted many rounds of negotiations on how to share the military expenditures of the US military in South Korea, but no agreement has been reached.
At the end of March 2020, South Korea and the United States reached a temporary agreement on a 13% increase in the share of 1,038.9 billion won in 2019. However, due to the refusal of U.S. President Trump, a final agreement was not reached, and negotiations followed. It is deadlocked.