FAILED DEFENSE COST TALKS WITH U.S.

[Anchor Lead]

It has been confirmed that Seoul and Washington have failed to reach an agreement on defense cost sharing because the United States demanded that South Korea pay for the rotational deployment of U.S. troops stationed in other countries as well. The issue continues to spark a fierce debate between the two sides.

[Pkg]

The dispute was initiated by the U.S. top negotiator, James DeHart. He stressed that Washington is covering high costs that are directly involved in South Korea's defense. He also claimed that Seoul must pay for the overseas stationing of American troops that could be potentially deployed on the Korean Peninsula.

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

South Korea's chief negotiator convened an unscheduled briefing on Thursday to rebut Washington's claims.

[Soundbite] CHUNG EUN-BO(AMBASSADOR TO S. KOREA-U.S. DEFENSE COST-SHARING TALKS) : "We cannot accept the demand that Korea pay for the stationing of U.S. troops in other countries."

Washington's demands run counter to the Special Measures Agreement, which has kept its status quo for 28 years now. The agreement clearly stipulates costs, such as wages for the Korean personnel, construction of U.S. army bases, and munitions support. However, the United States wants to add new articles to the standing deal. It wants Seoul to pay for the rotational deployment of American troops and for the transportation and deployment of military equipment. Although Washington says the deal might be modified at any time, Seoul has made it clear that adding or modifying the articles of the agreement is unacceptable. Seoul is demanding a fair evaluation of its contribution to the South Korea-U.S. alliance including the purchase of weapons and decontamination of the U.S. army bases in Korea. The defense cost talks are to resume in the U.S. next month. However, reaching a consensus will likely be difficult if Washington continues to demand that Korea pay for the stationing of American military personnel around the world, whereas Seoul wants to pay only for the stationing of U.S. army forces on the Korean Peninsula.