Pentagon official says burden sharing with Korea is not just about defense spending
Published: 23 Nov. 2024, 09:39
Updated: 24 Nov. 2024, 13:08
![Jedidiah Royal, principal U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, speaks during a forum hosted by the Korea Society in Washington on Nov. 22, 2024 in this photo captured from the Korea Society's YouTube account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/11/24/228c1439-3135-46eb-b39d-7632458dd801.jpg)
Jedidiah Royal, principal U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, speaks during a forum hosted by the Korea Society in Washington on Nov. 22, 2024 in this photo captured from the Korea Society's YouTube account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
Security burden sharing between the United States and South Korea is not just about Seoul's defense spending, a Pentagon official said Friday, amid concerns that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could seek the renegotiation of a recent defense cost-sharing deal between the two allies.
Jedidiah Royal, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, made the remarks, pointing to a set of areas, where South Korea can work together with the U.S. to advance mutual security benefits in the Indo-Pacific.
“The next administration will undoubtedly look to understand these arrangements for themselves, but I would add that sharing responsibility is not just about defense spending or SMA contributions,” Royal said in a keynote speech at a forum hosted by the Korea Society. SMA stands for Special Measures Agreement, the defense cost-sharing deal between Seoul and Washington.
“The ROK's high-tech industrial base, for example, can provide a concrete and tangible contribution to sharing the burden of maintaining peace and stability, and ROK support to others in the region is also part of working together for our mutual security benefit,” he added. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
Last month, South Korea and the U.S. struck the 12th SMA to determine Seoul's share of the cost for the stationing of the 28,500-strong United States Forces Korea (USFK). Under the deal that will last through 2030, Seoul is to pay 1.52 trillion won ($1.08 billion) in 2026, up from 1.4 trillion won in 2025.
After the conclusion of SMA negotiations, Trump said in a campaign speech that South Korea would pay $10 billion a year for the stationing of USFK if he were in the White House. He also described the Asian ally as a “money machine.”
![Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., Sept. 6, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/11/24/5661bb7c-112c-4e4b-ba94-9da6c7c0a5b0.jpg)
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York City, U.S., Sept. 6, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
His remarks spawned speculation that Trump could seek a revision of the deal to require Seoul to pay more for the U.S. troop presence in South Korea.
Royal stressed that the latest SMA will “put us in a durable position with U.S. forces based in South Korea going forward.”
“It is an important time to put some emphasis on how we share the burden and the responsibility for security in this critical part of the world,” he said.
At the same forum, former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris voiced hope that the incoming Trump administration would reaffirm the Washington Declaration “in its totality.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden issued the declaration during their White House summit last year as part of efforts to enhance the credibility of America's extended deterrence commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its Asian ally.
![The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/11/24/92f16609-6277-4c58-964a-84378b14a884.jpg)
The Pentagon and the surrounding area is seen in this aerial view in Washington, Jan. 26, 2020. [AP/YONHAP]
The declaration includes the leaders' agreement to launch the U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group, a key nuclear deterrence body.
“I would like to see a strong, positive reaffirmation of the Washington Declaration in its totality, not just the nuclear consultative piece of it,” he said.
Expressing his belief that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will not give up his nuclear arms, Harris said that it would be “naive” to think that “we can negotiate him away from those nuclear weapons.”
“I think the time for diplomacy and negotiations with Kim Jong-un is over. I think it's time to recognize the clear threat that comes from North Korea, as Kim Jong-un has threatened and demonstrated over and over again,” he said.
“The time is to arm up, and the time is to increase our military readiness, our alliance readiness together to face the threat that comes from North Korea, and apply whatever resources that task requires.”
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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