CONTINUED ROK-U.S. TALKS OVER DEFENSE COSTS

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea and the United States will have another round of talks in Washington this week over defense cost sharing. It is expected to be a tough negotiation as the U.S. is insisting on a stiff increase. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will ask NATO allies to pay more for defense at the NATO Summit to be held in London.

[Pkg]

South Korea and the United States will sit down in Washington DC on Tuesday for two-day talks on defense cost sharing. It takes place two weeks after last month's meeting in Seoul broke down in just 30 minutes. Back then, chief U.S. negotiator James DeHart described Korea's proposals as "not responsive to our request for fair and equitable burden sharing" and said he left the meeting to give Korea more time to reconsider its offers.

[Soundbite] JAMES DEHART(CHIEF U.S. NEGOTIATOR FOR DEFENSE COST SHARING TALKS(NOV. 19))

The upcoming negotiations are expected to be difficult as the American side insists that South Korea should pay much more to station American troops on the peninsula. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will attend the NATO summit in London this week to pressure the Western allies to spend more on defense. A high-ranking U.S. government official said President Trump thinks that NATO should pay a fairer share of the defense cost. To appease President Trump's dissatisfaction ahead of the summit, NATO member nations agreed to adjust the alliance's operational cost and pare down America's contribution from 22 percent to 16 percent. But the revised amount is far from meeting President Trump's demand, so NATO allies are likely to face mounting pressure from Washington. The New York Times recently ran an opinion piece that described President Trump's call for Korea's heftier share as "exorbitant demands and a lose-lose proposition." The Washington Post was also critical of President Trump's demand for five billion dollars from Seoul made at a time when a stronger alliance is needed to deter crises in the region, calling it an insult that could never be accepted by the Korean government.