S. Korea, US to hold 2 high-level meetings on defense cost-sharing, Strait of Hormuz deployment, and N. Korea talks

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (center) departs from Incheon International Airport on Jan. 13 to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in San Francisco the following day. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)

Kang Kyung-wha departs for San Francisco to meet with Pompeo

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (center) departs from Incheon International Airport on Jan. 13 to meet with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in San Francisco the following day. (Park Jong-shik, staff photographer)

This week, South Korea and the US will be holding a series of high-level talks concerning their defense cost-sharing agreement, the potential deployment of military forces to the Strait of Hormuz, and the North Korean nuclear talks.

“There’s been some degree of progress in the cost-sharing negotiations. We’ll be working to bring the negotiations to a swift conclusion,” said Chung Eun-bo, South Korea’s chief envoy to the cost-sharing negotiations. Chung left the country on Jan. 13 to attend the sixth round of negotiations, to be held in Washington on Jan. 14-15, as the two sides seek a breakthrough on the 11th Special Measures Agreement.

“While there’s still a gap between our two countries’ positions, we’ve increased our mutual understanding during the previous negotiations, and we’re also making some degree of progress,” Chung told reporters at Incheon International Airport on Monday.

When asked about the total amount of South Korea’s financial burden, which has been a chief point of contention between the two sides, Chung said, “Basically, we’ve been helping the Americans gain a broader understanding, to a certain extent, of the South Korean government’s position of [sticking to] the framework of the previous SMA.”

The US has asked South Korea to cover the cost of the rotational deployment of US troops in the country and their overseas training on the grounds that the US spends a lot of money for the benefit of South Korea that falls outside the SMA. South Korea has countered by asking the US to take into consideration contributions omitted from the SMA, such as its purchase of American weapons, the fact that it’s paying to decontaminate former US military bases, and tax benefits and land made available to the US military.

South Korea’s position is that, if both sides’ arguments cancel each other out, the current SMA framework should ultimately be maintained, keeping South Korea’s defense burden at a fair level. While some observers believe the US has backed down from its unreasonable demand for the burden to be increased to US$5 billion, the two sides will likely need more time to reach a final agreement.

The agenda of a separate meeting between top South Korean and US diplomats in San Francisco on Jan. 14 is expected to include the US’ request for the deployment of South Korean military to the Strait of Hormuz and ways for the two sides to cooperate on the North Korean denuclearization negotiations. Before departing from Incheon International Airport on Jan. 13, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters that she would “listen to the Americans’ thoughts” about the requested deployment during her meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “The government is continuing to review” the request, Kang said, adding that her conversation with Pompeo would “provide guidance for the government’s decision.”

Given the recent heightening of tensions between the US and Iran, Pompeo is expected to strongly push South Korea to deploy forces that can join a US-led coalition charged with defending the Strait of Hormuz. But there are several variables at play ― including the current volatility of American domestic politics ― leading some to predict that Seoul will wait to see how developments play out.

Kang was also asked about the solutions she will discuss with Pompeo given the deadlock in the North Korea-US talks. “For now, it seems important to prevent North Korea from carrying out additional provocations. We’ll be discussing how to manage the situation overall, which includes [preventing provocations], while resuming North Korea-US dialogue,” Kang said.

Following Kang and Pompeo’s meeting, Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Stephen Biegun, the US State Department’s special representative for North Korea, will also reportedly be sitting down together as the two countries discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

By Park Min-hee and Kim So-youn, staff reporters

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