FAILED AGREEMENT ON U.S. DEFENSE COST

[Anchor Lead]

Seoul and Washington eventually failed to reach an agreement on defense cost sharing within this year. After the fifth round of talks held in Seoul, U.S. top negotiator James DeHart held a press conference where he disclosed the breakdown of the five-billion dollar costs demanded by Washington for the first time.

[Pkg]

The fifth round of negotiations on defense cost sharing between South Korea and the United States ended with no result. South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that despite their differences, the two sides are working toward mutual understanding. Seoul and Washington have held five rounds of talks so far, but failed to narrow their differences. After the talks, U.S. top negotiator James DeHart held a press conference to disclose for the first time the breakdown of the defense costs. He pointed out that a very important item such as rotational deployment was missing in the list of defense costs.

[Soundbite] JAMES DEHART(U.S. TOP NEGOTIATOR TO DEFENSE COST TALKS)

The U.S. official said Washington is pursuing fair and equal cost sharing not only in Korea but around the world, and insinuated that Korea must pay more. However, he added that this requires consent from the Korean public and parliament.

[Soundbite] JAMES DEHART(U.S. TOP NEGOTIATOR TO DEFENSE COST TALKS)

James DeHart said the amount of defense costs demanded by Washington could be modified. He also stressed that the contract period of the Special Measures Agreement should be extended from the current one year. The next round of talks is slated for January in the U.S. If the two sides fail to reach an agreement by next March, the U.S. forces stationed in Korea will consider having the Korean staff take a 30-day unpaid leave and even reducing the workforce.