Trump Resumes Pressure on South Korea for Defense Cost Sharing

U.S. President Donald Trump has resumed pressure on South Korea to increase its defense cost sharing.

On the 8th of this month (local time), President Trump claimed during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, "South Korea is paying too little for the cost of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea," asserting that "South Korea must bear its own defense costs."

This statement comes as the U.S. and South Korea are in discussions to suspend mutual tariffs until August 1 and engage in trade negotiations, which is interpreted as a strategic statement aimed at enhancing the U.S. negotiation power.

Trump's pressure to increase defense costs appears to be intensifying alongside the U.S.-South Korea trade negotiations.

"South Korea is a wealthy country… pays too little for U.S. troops"

During the meeting, President Trump abruptly shifted the topic from tariffs to the issue of South Korea's defense costs.

He stated, "Almost every country has imposed tariffs on us. We have been running trade deficits with every country for decades, and have been viewed as a large model having bad agreements with every country."

Then he mentioned South Korea, claiming, "We rebuilt South Korea. The U.S. military has been there. They pay a very small amount for military costs (for U.S. troops stationed in South Korea)."

He further noted, "I got them (South Korea) to pay billions of dollars, but that was canceled when Biden (former president) took office."

This appears to refer to the prolonged deadlock of the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) negotiations for U.S. troop costs in South Korea during his first term, which concluded in March 2021 just after Biden took office.

President Trump remarked, "I told South Korea, 'You need to pay $10 billion (about 13.71 trillion won) a year.' They went crazy, but agreed to a $3 billion (about 4.11 trillion won) increase. So I earned $3 billion with one phone call and was satisfied."

He added, "I said to them, 'But we need to renegotiate next year (in 2020).' Then there was the fraudulent election (the 2020 U.S. presidential election), and we couldn't renegotiate." He speculated, "Maybe they told Biden, 'Trump treated us terribly, and we shouldn't pay anything.' So he (Biden) canceled it altogether."

However, this claim diverges somewhat from the facts.

At that time in 2019, the Trump administration demanded an increase of $5 billion (around 5.7 trillion won) from South Korea, which was a significant amount, more than five times the 2019 contribution from South Korea (1.0389 trillion won).

Nonetheless, during last year's presidential campaign, President Trump repeatedly insisted that South Korea should pay $10 billion for defense cost sharing, referring to South Korea as a "Money Machine."

Additionally, President Trump incorrectly mentioned the size of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea during the meeting.

He claimed that the number of U.S. troops in South Korea was 45,000, when in reality, the figure is about 28,000.

President Trump also referenced U.S. troops stationed in Germany, stating, "45,000, but in reality, it's 52,000," adding, "That represents an enormous economic benefit and money for them. It's like having an entire city. It’s a huge loss for us. So we are speaking very kindly and discussing this issue with them. It's very unfair."

He emphasized, "We are supplying weapons to the militaries of many successful countries. South Korea is making a lot of money and doing very well. However, they must bear their own defense costs."

Image source: U.S. President Donald Trump / gettyimageskorea, gettyimageskorea, U.S. Forces Korea / News1