韓美방위비분담협상 4차 회의 종료
Another round of defense cost sharing negotiations held in Seoul between South Korea and the U.S. ended without a conclusion.
The fourth session was led by the foreign ministry's Representative for Defense Burden Sharing... Chang Won-sam,... and his U.S. counterpart, Timothy Betts.
According to Yonhap news,...the key negotiators tried to close gaps in both sides' positions,... but no agreement was reached.
Talks, which kickstarted in March, are to continue later in the year.
According to the 9th Special Measures Agreement, or SMA,... between the two sides,... Seoul covers the expenses of South Korean workers at U.S. military bases in the country, as well as costs related to facility construction and logistical support.
As such, Seoul is expected to pay some 900 million U.S. dollars this year,... roughly 50 percent of the total annual cost of deploying U.S. troops on South Korea soil.
The two sides are aiming at inking their tenth SMA within 2018, before the 9th SMA, signed in 2014, expires this year.
