Dismissal of Secretary Mattis Leads to Reset of US-ROK Cost Sharing Talks

I think it is becoming very clear that if the ROK government does not pay more for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance that it would not be surprising to see a reduction of troops in South Korea within the next two years or the removal of dependents to save money:

 South Korean and U.S. officials had significantly narrowed differences in recent negotiations over how to share the upkeep costs for American troops stationed here, but the working-level progress fell apart as the U.S. leadership rejected it, sources said Tuesday.
Seoul and Washington have held a series of talks since March over how much financial cost South Korea should bear for 28,500 troops of U.S. Forces Korea amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for a sharp rise in Seoul’s share.
Earlier this month, the two sides tried to reach a final deal on the issue during the 10th round of negotiations held in Seoul and narrowed differences to a gap of about 100 billion won, but the progress fell through as the U.S. leadership opposed the idea.
A government source said, “We are nearly back to square one.”
The two couldn’t even schedule the timing of the next round of meetings, as both apparently needed time for policy coordination and consultation within their own governments.

Yonhap

President Trump has apparently linked the reboot of cost sharing talks to the decision to replace Defense Secretary James Mattis:

On Monday, he wrote on Twitter that, “We are substantially subsidizing the Militaries of many VERY rich countries all over the world, while at the same time these countries take total advantage of the U.S., and our TAXPAYERS, on Trade. General Mattis did not see this as a problem. I DO, and it is being fixed!”
Although he didn’t pinpoint South Korea, it is understood that he directed the comment at Seoul, with which the U.S. is currently negotiating over defense costs.

You can read more at the link.