Seoul and Washington have begun their fourth round of defense cost sharing negotiations on Tuesday morning in Seoul.
The two-day discussions are led by South Korean foreign ministry's Representative for Defense Burden Sharing Chang Won-sam,... and his U.S. counterpart Timothy Betts.
The two sides have held three rounds of previous negotiations since March this year,... but haven't yet reached a deal.
According to the Special Measures Agreement, or SMA,... between the two sides,... South Korea pays the expenses of South Korean workers at U.S. bases in the country, as well as costs related to facility construction and logistical support.
South Korea is expected to pay some 900 million U.S. dollars this year,... roughly 50 percent of the total annual cost of deploying U.S. military forces in the South.
As the 9th SMA, signed in 2014 is expected to expire at the end of this year,... Seoul and Washington are aiming to sign the tenth agreement within this year.
