TheUnitedStatesandSouthKoreaaremeetingforthefourthtimetoreachanagreementonsharingdefensecosts. Thereareabout28,500U. S. troopsinSouthKorea. ThecountrysharesaheavilyarmedborderwithNorthKorea.
SouthKoreaalsosaiditagreedtopay90percentofthe $10.7billioncostofmovingaU. S. militarybaseoutofSeoul. PresidentDonaldTrumphasbeenurgingSouthKoreaandotheralliestopaymoretowarddefensecostssincehetookofficein2017.
ReportssaythattheU. S. askedSouthKoreatopayabout $5billionstartingnextyear. TherequestwasmadeduringtalkslastOctoberinHonolulu, Hawaii. SomeexpertssaythattheU. S. isputtingpressureonanimportantally.
C. HarrisonKimisaNorthKoreaexpertandprofessorattheUniversityofHawaiiatManoa. HetoldVOAthathebelievesSouthKoreawillpayalittlemore.
"Ifthecost-sharingagreementdoesnotchange, SouthKoreawillbeforcedtobuymoreweaponsfromtheU. S. – thatwouldundoubtedlyhappen," hesaid. KimalsotoldVOAthathethinks: "PresidentTrumpisapproachingthisasacost-benefitanalysis" andisnotconsideringthehistoricallegacyoftheU. S. inKorea.