[News Today] “S.Korea pays US very little for military”

[LEAD]
President Donald Trump has brought up defense cost sharing with South Korea once again. In his words, "South Korea pays very little". But as such remarks came during on-going tariff talks, it's seen as an effort to tie trade and security together for the negotiation

[REPORT]
During a White House Cabinet meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump, while talking about tariffs, suddenly mentions South Korea.

Donald Trump / U.S. President
We rebuilt it and we stayed there. And they pay us very little for the military.

He said South Korea was making a lot of money and should pay for its own defense.

His remarks are viewed as exerting pressure to increase the amount of Seoul's defense cost sharing.

This is not the first time Trump tried to raise the cost of stationing U.S. troops in Korea.

During the presidential campaign, he claimed that Seoul should pay 10 billion dollars in defense costs.

Trump tried to raise the figure during his first term in office.

But the cost sharing agreement for U.S. Forces Korea was signed in 2021 right after former President Joe Biden took office.

Trump had called out the Biden administration for slashing Korea's defense expenditure.

Donald Trump / U.S. President
I got them to pay billions of dollars, and Biden then canceled it when he came in.

Trump yet again cited inaccurate numbers.

He said the U.S. demanded 10 billion dollars in defense costs from Korea in 2019 but what the Trump administration actually requested was five billion dollars.

Trump also falsely claimed that some 45-thousand American troops were in Korea, but it's close to 28-thousand.

Pundits believe that Trump bringing up the defense cost issue while final stage trade talks are under way with Korea is aimed at directing the talks to the U.S.' advantage.