Trump pushes on defense cost-sharing with S. Korea

One day after sending South Korea a letter unilaterally informing the country about a 25-percent tariff starting September U.S. President Donald Trump took issue with the cost of maintaining American troop presence here on the Korean peninsula.

Ahn Sung-jin covers his latest remarks.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for a "one-stop shopping" deal with South Korea on defense and trade.

At the White House on Tuesday, Trump stated that its Asian ally was underpaying for military protection.

He reiterated his hardline stance that Seoul should increase its contributions to U.S. defense costs, referring back to negotiations during his first term where he claimed he demanded that Seoul should pay 10 billion U.S. dollars a year in defense cost-sharing, a figure far above current levels.

"You know, we have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea. And, you know, that's a huge economic development for them. That's tremendous amount. That's like having a city. It's tremendous money for them and it's a tremendous loss for us."

Unlike Trump's assertion, there are currently around 28-thousand U.S. military troops in Korea.

And regarding Trump's remarks, the South Korean government said that it will comply with the existing defense cost-sharing agreement between the two countries.

The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday stated that the existing 12th Special Measures Agreement contributes to a joint defense position and added that it is inappropriate to react to every single remark made by a foreign leader.

As Trump's remarks continue to stir debate on the alliance between the two countries, an expert says Korea should show flexibility and try to negotiate with the people in charge from various stakeholder ministries.

"It's not really clear to me that Donald Trump appreciates the American alliance network. He attacks U.S. allies on a fairly regular basis so I would encourage South Korea to go slow and see if they can move the bay from the executive level."

South Korea's defense cost-sharing issue and the need to preserve its security alliance with the U.S. adds to the complexity of the high-stakes negotiations.

Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News.