Trump Rejects South Korea Cost-Sharing Offer

Reports say US may draw down troops on Korean Peninsula

Months of US demands for South Korea to pay the US a huge percentage of the cost of troops in the country remain unresolved, as President Trump reported South Korea offered a “certain amount of money and I’ve rejected it.” He did not say how much money was offered, or exactly how many billions the US is demanding at this point.

South Korea was already paying one of the largest amounts of any nation in cost-sharing, but the US kept raising its demands. Now it seems the US is going out of its way to not make a deal.

Reports out of South Korea’s media say that the US is considering various proposals to cut the troop levels on the Korean Peninsula, both because of coronavirus and because they didn’t get the billions they expected from South Korea.

Troop cuts will loom large in South Korea’s upcoming elections, although the US doesn’t appear to be looking for a compromise. Talk of the US wanting to expand the demands for more money to Germany and Japan may be on hold, however, as this first effort isn’t going well.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.