I sure hope the US negotiators are using a possible Trump presidency as leverage during these negotiations:
A U.S. delegation for defense cost sharing talks with South Korea arrives at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul to hold a three-day fourth round of negotiations on June 25, 2024. (Yonhap)
Seoul and Washington launched the negotiations in April to renew the cost-sharing deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), amid the view that South Korea is seeking an early deal to avoid tough bargaining in case former U.S. President Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Under Trump’s presidency, Washington had demanded more than a fivefold increase in Seoul’s payment to US$5 billion.
The current six-year SMA, due to expire at the end of next year, committed South Korea to paying $1.03 billion for 2021, a 13.9 percent increase from 2019, and increasing the payment every year for the subsequent four years in line with the rise in Seoul’s defense spending.
South Korea has said it seeks to have negotiations based on the position that its share should come at a “reasonable level,” to create an environment for the stable stationing of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and to strengthen the allies’ combined defense posture.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
The last time she visited Camp Humphreys was in 2007. It is too bad she did not get a chance to come back and see how much larger the installation is now compared to back then:
Betty Nance Humphreys, of Fayetteville, N.C., the widow of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Benjamin Humphreys, for whom the largest overseas U.S. military base is named, died June 10 at age 93. “It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Betty Nance Humphreys, a remarkable woman whose legacy is deeply intertwined with the very fabric of our garrison,” U.S. Army Col. Ryan K. Workman, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys, told Stars and Stripes by email Friday. On her last visit to Camp Humphreys, South Korea, in March 2007, she planted a tree in memory of her late husband at the base of Beacon Hill at Memorial Park, according to a post Friday on the base’s official Facebook page. “That tree stands as a living testament to their enduring love and commitment to our military family,” Workman said.
Benjamin Humphreys was assigned to the 6th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) at what was then called Sub-post K-6. Humphreys died Oct. 13, 1961, when his H-21 Shawnee helicopter developed mechanical trouble and crashed into a rice paddy near Osan, killing him and the seven soldiers he was transporting, according to the Facebook post. The Army renamed the airfield Camp Humphreys in 1962. Today the base dubbed “the Army’s Home in Korea” is home to the U.S. Eighth Army, 2nd Infantry Division, U.S. Forces Korea, the Combined Command and the United Nations Command. The 2nd Aviation Combat Brigade is also stationed at Humphreys. The major headquarters relocated over several years from Yongsan Barracks in the heart of Seoul.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
By the way the picture of above of COL Taliento the former Camp Humphreys garrison commander in 2007 brought back memories. His dispute with the business owners outside the gate had them put up banners asking him to seek psychiatric treatment.
It will be interesting to see if this idea of a trilateral summit between the U.S., ROK, and Japanese legislatures ever happens. It seems it would be hard to do with the ROK National Assembly controlled by the Korean Democractic Party which has many anti-Japanese members who would not want to be seen with anyone from the Japanese government:
This file photo, taken Aug. 18, 2023, shows South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L), U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attending a press conference at Camp David in Maryland. (Yonhap)
In an April interview with U.S. magazine TIME, Trump suggested that Washington could withdraw the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea if South Korea, a “wealthy” country, does not increase its contributions for the upkeep of the U.S. troops.
The remarks added to deepening security concerns fueled by Pyongyang’s unceasing push to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and its burgeoning military cooperation with Russia.
In the face of the North’s persistent threats, Bera drove home a reassuring message: The alliance remains sturdy.
“I think it’s as strong as ever, maybe even stronger than it was a decade ago,” he said.
The lawmaker also underscored Congress’ efforts to advance trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, which has firmed up against the backdrop of growing North Korean threats.
“We’ve been talking about the legislative equivalent of what happened at Camp David, where you could get members of Congress, leaders in the Diet and leaders in the National Assembly together to just reaffirm that outside of the executive branch,” he said.
He was referring to the first-ever standalone trilateral summit that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held at Camp David in Maryland in August, in a culmination of their three-way collaboration.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Here is one of the typicals responses from the playbook used by the US and ROK in response to North Korean provocations:
The United States on Wednesday deployed one B-1B bomber for joint bombing drills in South Korea for the first time in seven years amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s trash balloon campaign and GPS jamming attacks.
The U.S. heavy bomber from Andersen Air Base in Guam and two South Korean F-15K fighters released live GBU-38, 500-pound joint direct attack munitions, to strike multiple simulated targets at Pilsung Range in Taebaek, 181 kilometers southeast of Seoul, according to the U.S. 7th Air Force in South Korea.
U.S. B-1B bombers last held such an exercise in South Korea in 2017.
You can read more at the link.
I think the situation on the peninsula would have to get very unstable before the U.S. military would consider redeploying tactical nuclear weapons on to the peninsula:
A ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday proposed the idea of redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear arms to South Korea to beef up deterrence, noting the absence of any immediate diplomatic solution to North Korea’s nuclear quandary.
Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) made the proposal in a report, titled “21st Century Peace Through Strength: A Generational Investment in the U.S. Military,” in which he stressed Pyongyang continues to “outpace expectations” about its nuclear and missile programs with capabilities to target the continental United States.
“Because there is no immediate diplomatic solution in sight, the United States must ensure that deterrence does not erode on the Korean Peninsula,” the senator said in the report.
“That means maintaining readiness with regular U.S.-Republic of Korea military exercises, keeping a persistent U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula and exploring new options — such as nuclear-sharing agreements in the Indo-Pacific and redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula — to bolster deterrence on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
No foul play is suspected which likely means either a medical emergency of some kind or suicide; tragic either way:
A 22-year-old soldier stationed at Camp Humphreys was found unresponsive in his barracks Wednesday and later pronounced dead, according to the 2nd Infantry Division. Spc. Jaggert Oakes, of Barberton, Ohio, was a human resources specialist assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 11th Engineer Battalion, 2nd ID Sustainment Brigade, the command said in a news release Friday.
Oakes was pronounced dead at 10:23 a.m. Wednesday at Humphrey’s Brian D. Allgood Army Community Hospital, according to the release. No criminal activity is suspected but the base’s Criminal Investigation Division is looking into the death, the release said.
Stars & Stripes
You can read the rest at the link, but condolences to SPC Oakes’ friends and family.
This would probably be an interesting meeting to be a fly on the wall and listen in to:
The military is planning to hold a rare meeting between major South Korean and U.S. Forces Korea special operations officials later this month to discuss ways to improve special warfare capabilities amid North Korea’s threats, Seoul’s defense ministry said Tuesday.
South Korea operates special forces units separately under the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Marine Corps, and regularly stages combined drills with U.S. Special Operations Command Korea troops, but holding a meeting between all of their commanders would mark a rare occasion.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
