By Xinhua,
Seoul : South Korea and the United States will hold a new round of negotiation on the defense cost sharing of U.S. troops in South Korea on Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, South Korean Foreign Ministry said Monday.
It will be the third time that the two sides hold such talks in2008.
The two sides reviewed each other’s position in the two previous rounds, a South Korean foreign ministry official told local media.
“Full-fledged negotiations are expected from now on,” he added.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, Washington has called for Seoul to increase its share to 50 percent from the current 42 percent. South Korea paid 725.5 billion won (720 million U.S. dollars) to Washington in 2007 and is supposed to pay the same amount this year with an adjustment for inflation under the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).
In a bid to head off a controversy over what constitutes an appropriate contribution, South Korea is also seeking to provide the U.S. military with funds and materials on a case-by-case basis rather than paying a lump sum of cash.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea.