Seoul, Washington ink new pact to share cost for U.S. forces in S. Korea

SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) — Seoul and Washington have reached a new agreement to share the cost for U.S. forces stationed in the Asian country, South Korea’s foreign ministry said Friday.
Since April the two sides held eight rounds of negotiations on the 12th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) that stipulates a cost-sharing between Seoul and Washington for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).
Under the five-year SMA that will last until 2030, South Korea will pay 1.52 trillion won (1.14 billion U.S. dollars) for the USFK stationing in 2026, up 8.3 percent compared with the previous year.
The South Korean contribution will be used to pay wage for South Korean civilian workers employed by the USFK, construction costs for U.S. bases and logistics support expenses.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War that ended with armistice. ■