Report Claims John Bolton Ask Seoul to Pay $5 Billion for US-ROK Alliance Upkeep
Considering that last year the US negotiators had to fight to get the ROK to pay $879 million for this year’s upkeep, I don’t expect them to pay $5 billion next year:
South Korea and the United States have agreed to conduct discussions in a “reasonable and fair” way on how to share the cost for the upkeep of American troops here, a foreign ministry official here said Tuesday.
The two sides talked about the upcoming negotiations over Seoul’s share of the cost for the stationing of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) for next year, when U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton visited Korea last week, the official said.
The local daily JoongAng Ilbo reported that Washington has tentatively decided to request that Seoul pay US$5 billion under a renewed bilateral cost-sharing arrangement for next year, more than a fivefold increase from the previous year.
“When U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton was visiting Korea on July 23 and 24, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to have consultations over the sharing of the defense cost in a reasonable and fair direction,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but it would have been interesting to see the face of Moon administration officials when John Bolton dropped the $5 billion number.
Commie moon admin and his leftist press now trying to generate anti-US feelings. Just like they created the false crisis with Japan.
Nobody reads Trumps books.
(Nobody read Hitler’s book either)
A five billion dollar request is a win in all three possible outcomes.
– Korea accepts. Win.
– Korea accepts something lower than 5 billion but higher than now. Win.
– Korea rejects and America withdraws. Win.
So…
CH for the win
It’s really like no one on the Korean left even knows how to haggle over goods at Namdemun Market…
Won’t happen but should. Years and years of hearing of SK being a miracle of the East due to the hard work ethic of the Korean people. You must dig deep to find those comments about the security blanket the US provided to make it happen. $5B doesn’t begin to make up for that.
CH wins, but it is typical Eastern haggling, something the coup masters in the Blue House do not understand, but every ajuma in every town does. There was only shop I paid the asking price when I was in Korea, the asking price got lower the more I bought. The last couple weeks I was there (after hold baggage was gone, dammit) I bought a couple of cassettes from him $1 each, my very first purchase was $5. Win/Win cassettes were $8-10 at the PX I’m sure he got his copies for much less than even $1. Every one else I learned to haggle with.
The election for National Assembly members is in April 2020. The Korean left can’t really run on accomplishing anything so an anti-Japanese and anti-US platform might be what they decide to go with.