Ahead of the US presidential election in November, South Korea and the United States are entering new talks to determine the cost of sending troops. US in Korea continued by former President Donald Trump, who said he may withdraw US troops. from Korea unless South Korea pays more.
Former President Trump said in a Time magazine interview published today, “We have 40,000 troops (actually 28,500) in dangerous positions, and this makes no sense. Why do we protect others? We are in a very difficult situation right now. “I’m talking about a rich country (Korea),” he said.
Time interpreted this statement as a suggestion that former President Trump may withdraw US troops from Korea.
The United States and South Korea regularly conclude the Special Defense Cost Sharing Agreement (SMA), which determines the costs that Korea must bear in relation to the cost of deploying US troops. Korea.
Former President Trump, who opposes free-riding on security and sees alliances as functional relationships, pushed for an increase in defense cost-sharing in 2019, during his first term his, asking for an amount nearly six times the previous year’s share.
During his tenure, he is known to have said that US troops should be withdrawn unless they receive $5 billion (KRW 6.9 trillion) for stationing costs in Korea, and there have also been reports that the Department of Defense gave the SA reported to White. House options regarding the reduction of US troops stationed in Korea.
The US Congress also included language in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 to prevent the president from arbitrarily reducing the size of US troops stationed in Korea.
South Korea and the United States were unable to reach an agreement on defense spending during the Trump administration due to former President Trump’s demand for a sharp increase in defense spending, but ended negotiations after the Biden administration took office.
Because of this, there was a gap in the agreement for about a year and a half.
There is also an analysis that the reason why the ROK and the United States started the defense cost negotiations early this time, which usually started a year before the end of trade, was considering concerns about this situation.
The current agreement expires at the end of next year. Even if South Korea and the United States reach a new agreement, there is also speculation that the US may demand a new compromise if former President Trump wins the presidential election and a second Trump administration is installed next year.
In an interview with Time magazine, former President Trump also said of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, “If they don’t pay, you’re on your own.”
On the campaign trail in February, he told NATO allies that do not cover 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) for their own defense: “I’m not going to protect you. I’m going to encourage them (Russia) to do whatever they want.”
Time magazine assessed what former President Trump said in this interview as “not blackmail.”
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2024-04-30 23:05:15
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