S. KOREA-U.S. REACH DEFENSE COST AGREEMENT

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South Korea says it has reached a tentative agreement on defense cost sharing with the US - an issue that had been stalled for more than two years during the previous Trump administration. The two nations are set to announce the details soon.

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South Korea and the U.S. have reached an agreement on defense cost sharing after nearly two years of negotiations. Seoul's foreign ministry said the two sides reached a tentative agreement at a meeting in Washington over the weekend. The allies will announce the results and tentatively sign the deal after reporting it to their respective authorities. Once the agreement is signed officially, it will end the vacuum that has continued for over a year. With the Biden administration calling for rebuilding alliances and negotiating defense costs as soon as possible, the deal will likely be approved by Washington without much opposition. However, the two countries have declined to disclose the details. Under the Trump administration, the two sides were close to raising the defense costs by 13 percent, but Trump rejected the proposal. Seoul had reportedly insisted on a moderate raise with an agreement signed at least every five years instead of one year. The Wall Street Journal has reported the new deal is valid until 2026. If the two sides agree on concluding the deal every five years, they will be able to save time and effort invested in annual negotiations. Both Seoul and Washington have been often calling their bilateral alliance "the core pillar" of peace on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia. With Washington emphasizing the importance of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan in the Indo-Pacific region, the signing of the defense cost sharing agreement is expected to raise the chances of holding the so-called foreign and defense 2+2 ministers' meeting.