rare! South Korea and US start defense spending negotiations ahead of schedule

Release time:May 18, 2024 13:20 PM

The 12th "Special Agreement on Sharing Defense Costs"

South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 16th that the second round of negotiations on the 12th Special Agreement on Defense Cost Sharing between South Korea and the United States will be held in Seoul from May 21 to 23. The first round of negotiations was held in Hawaii from April 23 to April 25.

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that South Korea's position is to negotiate with the United States on cost sharing at a "reasonable" level.

Lee Joo-il, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, said that the sharing of defense costs between South Korea and the United States aims to create stable conditions for the U.S. military stationed in South Korea and strengthen the joint defense posture of South Korea and the United States. The South Korean government insists on the position that defense costs should be shared within a reasonable range, and Negotiations with the United States will be launched based on this.

There are currently approximately 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea. South Korea began sharing military garrison costs in the 1990s. The two countries have signed 11 "Special Agreements on Defense Cost Sharing", and the 11th agreement will expire at the end of 2025. According to the agreement, the amount of defense expenses borne by South Korea in 2021 will be US$1.03 billion, an increase of 13.9% compared with 2019.

According to Korean media reports, defense expenses have increased significantly during the Trump administration. Previously, the Trump administration once offered South Korea a price of about US$5 billion per year, five times the previous price, but South Korea rejected it.

In recent days, Trump has repeatedly expressed his stance on issues such as the U.S. military stationed in South Korea and the amount of defense cost sharing between South Korea and the United States during his canvassing activities. He said: "South Korea took away our shipbuilding industry, computer industry, and many other industries, making a lot of money. If I become president, I will increase defense spending."

Many South Korean media analyzed that South Korea and the United States have rarely started negotiations on a new agreement early when there is still about one year and eight months left in the agreement. This may be to reduce risks-if Trump comes to power again, they are trying to minimize their alliance with South Korea and the United States. impact.

Korean media said that the goal of South Korea and the United States is to agree with the Biden administration before the U.S. election on the amount of defense cost sharing that will take effect in 2026. However, some Korean experts pointed out that even if the negotiations are concluded, the possibility of overturning the results of the later negotiations must be taken into consideration.

At present, South Korean public opinion has also begun to worry about South Korea-US relations after the US election. The South Korean government stated that it is fully prepared to deal with any situation.

For a long time, the US military stationed in South Korea has frequently violated local laws, triggering anger and protests among the South Korean people.

The rescued person is only willing to bear $4000, while the climbers of Mount Everest give up climbing and spend $10000 to save the dying women's mountaineering team | members | rescued person
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Recently, two members of the Hunan Provincial Mountaineering Team gave up their plan to reach the summit of Mount Everest less than 400 meters away, winning widespread praise for their heroic act of saving lives. On June 3rd, Upstream News reporters found on Weibo that netizens had posted a message stating that the rescued person was only willing to bear $4000 of the $10000 rescue cost. Upstream news reporters contacted Fan Jiangtao, the leader of the Hunan Provincial Mountaineering Team, and he stated that the situation was true. He was very angry and had decided to share the cost with another rescuer himself. He also wanted to ask why the rescued person was. Upstream news reporters confirmed from informed sources that the rescued person was Ms. L, a 50 year old mountaineer from Hunan. She was rescued on May 18th during her evacuation from the summit of Mount Everest. And it only took her 13 days from arriving in Kathmandu to reaching the summit, which is one-third of the standard climbing cycle. “

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Direct news: Mr. Chen, the defense ministers of China and the United States were talking and talking at the "Xiangshe meeting" in Singapore, but senior officials of the US State Department and the National Security Council rushed to visit Beijing. What do you think of this situation? Special commentator Chen Bing: the defense chiefs of China and the United States are talking at the "incense meeting" in Singapore, and the Chinese side also rejected the request of the United States for a meeting between the defense chiefs of the two countries, but we can see that the defense chiefs of the two countries are still dining at the same table, appear in the same frame, and shake hands, which means that there is still room for a turnaround in Sino-US relations. The most important point is that the defense ministers of the two countries have reached some consensus in the tit-for-tat confrontation. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu said that if there is a fierce conflict and confrontation between China and the United States, it will be an "unbearable pain" for the world ". In response to the Taiwan Strait issue, U.S. Defense Secretary Austin said that once a conflict broke out in the Taiwan Strait, it would be "devastating" and once again issued a statement of restoration.

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