S Korea hints at denial of Trump's claim of deal to pay more for US troops

Iran Press TV

Friday, 01 May 2020 10:39 AM

South Korea has suggested its denial of a reported claim by US President Donald Trump that Seoul has agreed to pay "a lot more money" to maintain nearly 30,000 American troops on its soil, insisting that talks on the issue are still underway.

"The negotiation is still ongoing," said South Korea's presidential office on Thursday, adrressing the country's official Yonhap news agency, which further noted that the office refused to comment on Trump's remarks a day earlier as quoted in a report by Britain's state-funded news agency, Reuters.

"We can make a deal. They want to make a deal," Trump said during an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, referring to the negotiations to determine how to split the cost for maintaining about 28,500 US military service members stationed in South Korea.

"They've agreed to pay a lot of money. They're paying a lot more money than they did when I got here," added the US president.

However, an official with Seoul's presidential Blue House was quoted by Yonhap as saying: "We have nothing to announce yet in regard to the defense cost-sharing deal."

"The basic principle of a negotiation is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," the report further quoted another "key official" at the Blue House as telling journalists on Thursday, adding: "Nothing has been agreed on yet."

It also cited the South Korean foreign ministry as reiterating that it is still negotiating with the American side and that an agreement has yet to be reached.

Trump also asserted last week that he had rejected Seoul's offer because he felt the long-time US ally – instrumental in protecting American interests in the region -- should pay more.

This is while an earlier press report further noted that South Korea had suggested a 13-percent increase from the 2019 share of $870 million for the stationing of the massive number of US Forces Korea (USFK).

Moreover, South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also underlined on Tuesday that the amount Trump had rejected was "the highest possible level for us," implying that the protracted impasse between the two countries were likely to continue.

Meanwhile, more than 4,000 South Korean employees of USFK have been placed on unpaid leave since April 1 due to the absence of a new defense cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), to cover their salaries.

The issue prompted the commander of USFK forces in South Korea to express concern over it in early April, urging a prompt resolution of the lingering cost-sharing dispute between the two close allies that has led to the furloughing of Korean workers by the US.

"This is an unfortunate day for us, it's unthinkable, it's heartbreaking," said Commander General Robert Abrams in a video statement on April 1. "The partial furlough of (Korean national) employees is not what we envisioned or hoped would happen."

The previous SMA -- under which Seoul had agreed on an 8.2 percent increase -- expired at the end of 2019.

This is while American military presence in South Korea has stoked anti-US sentiments in the country.

American military personnel have on many occasions caused outrage by committing various crimes, including rape and assault. The US forces were put under curfew in July of last year after a drunken soldier attempted to steal a taxi and hit a Korean National Police officer in the process.

However, the Pentagon claims US troops are in South Korea to deter perceived threats from rival North Korea.

The development also comes amid persisting US efforts to expand its military presence in the pacific in an apparent bid to keep in check the rising economic and military assertiveness of China in and around its territorial waters.

Earlier this week, the Chinese military warned a US warship to leave after it illegally entered the disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Senior Colonel Li Huamin, a spokesman for the Southern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army, stated on Tuesday that the warship "entered the territorial waters off the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea without China's permission."

"The US move has severely violated the relevant international law and was a serious infringement of China's sovereignty," Li said, calling on US to stop military operations that are not conducive to regional security and peace and stability.

The South China Sea serves as a gateway to global sea routes, through which about 3.4 trillion dollars of trade passes each year. Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have overlapping claims with China to parts of the sea.

The United States, which sides with Beijing's rivals in the maritime dispute, routinely sends warships and warplanes to the South China Sea to assert what it calls its right to freedom of navigation, ratcheting up tensions among the regional countries.