The huge $920 million annual fee South Korea has already agreed to pay the US for keeping troops in their country didn’t last long, as President Trump quickly upped the demand to an unprecedented level, approaching $5 billion.
On Monday, the US negotiator was upbeat to start talks, expecting a compromise to be reached. Tuesday the talks fell apart in a matter of minutes, as the US walked out as soon as South Korean officials resisted the massive increase.
This $5 billion annually is believed to be considerably more than the troops actually cost, and the Pentagon has defended the number publicly only on the grounds that South Korea could afford to pay it. Privately, the suggestion is that Trump came up with the number off the top of his head, and it became policy.
South Korean officials aren’t too happy, especially with how quickly the US walked out of the talks, and US officials are now saying they’re giving them time to “reconsider” the demands. South Korean officials warned the move shows signs of eroding trust.
There is also a sense among South Korean officials that this whole thing is a bluff by the US, noting that there has been no suggestion that the US might reduce troop levels or withdraw if they don’t get their way.
Good. Once again, the Trump presidency, if not the president, has caused problems for one of ‘our’ alliances – which is fine with me as I’d prefer the US went back to being a republic that minded its own business.
i guess its a win for america if we can get south korea to pay for israel’s aid?
Koreans to imperialist USA: Get out of Korea & stay out.
Trumps mafia tactic apparently did`n work. Well Don Trump got plenty of other countries to intimidate and threaten.
Consigliere Pompus will send his men.
Jim, you give him way too much credit, and he is so stupid the mafia would not have him.
Organized crime has stooges like trump all over to move money around.
Dave, now the organized crime expert,LOL!! 🙂
he’s no dope.
My father was CPA for organized crime figures in Chicago in the late 50s. Expert ? no. Knowledgeable, yes, enough to not support an obvious stooge.
Traits of the classic stooge…
Public figure, for publicity reasons
Willfully ignorant, so even if caught, they have no idea how they have been used, and, it is pointless to get information from them.
Greedy….obvious
Full of bs, so no one important can stand paying attention to what he says….
Sounds like our spanky to a tea…
Dave, you are a classic kool Aide drinker! LOL!!!!
It was always nothing but an ego trip with financial benefits.
antar, Yes, like working for nothing!! LOL,,you are so deceived. 🙂
Cut our presence in S. Korea in half, only maintain an air and naval base.
The troops are just sitting targets and would be useless if an actual war broke out. So cutting our presence to “only” maintain our actual war making assets, an air and naval base, wouldn’t change anything.
Wars,you know little of history. 🙂
Please Jay, give me a lesson. Tell me why history tells us those troops, sitting in range of thousands upon thousands of artillery shells that would be raining down upon them, would be of any use.
That would be the reason. Then after sacrificing these personnel in a North Korean attack, America would be “outraged” and declare war on North Korea.
wars, I will not spoon feed you because you are too lazy to do your homework.
Because you are talking out of your a** as usual.
wars,,You have become a very rude person! 🙁
Please kick us out.
That is Trump’s plan.
So our “Global Force for Good” has become our Global Force for Sale.
arn,,I cringe when I hear that quote, what BS propaganda from the DC GHOULS!!
That’s Pompous Pompeo talking .. He’s demanding $5B from S. Korea? That’s extortion. I don’t blame S. Korea at all for balking at that high price, Just pull the US troops out and stop making a scene over it .. both S and N. Korea are getting along well enough for US troops to leave.
Apparently, DJT hasn’t chastised Pompous for demanding $5B from S. Korea .. That means, he approved Pompous’s extortion demand.
I’m sure Pompeo didn’t pull that figure($5B) from his oversized a**. Of course DJT approved.
Maybe Korea is waking up, it wasn’t China that occupied and took advantage for many decades, that was Japan, and it wasn’t China that bombed them till there was hardly a building left standing, killing maybe millions, that was the US. Probably China is the best friend Korea ever had at least in recent history.
OK who is going to invade S. Korea, the North is just awaiting US withdrawal we are told, and that is indeed an eventuality, but a minor one at best.
South Korean military is no third world military and is one of most dedicated, highly trained, modern equipped forces in world.
One reason it has attained that position is that since end of Vietnam conflict its Military
primary mission has been that of defensive not offensive.
It has more in numbers of advanced aircraft that the N has of antiquated and old tech jets and a few newer but less capable craft combined, S. Koreas naval forces are in same catagory, it’s Army has not as many but far hig her destructive capable armored forces
The Souths ndustrial expertise is equal to Japan and superior to US, and its hi-tech is as high as Japan or US.
It’s national debt is relatively non existent, and the per capita of personal savings of populace is one if not thev Worlds highest.
South Korea has a large domesticly owned military industrial complex that could within months surpass all of N. Korea’s missle numbers, tactical and technical abilities.
As for needs of raw natural resources it has three neighboring nations capable of fulfilling those needs, Russia, China and N.Korea.
And with increased Russia China newly agreed upon pipelines from Russia to China it would cost little for Koreas to join that supply route
N. Korea’s mineral deposits are quite large and untouched due to US/NATO embargoes, and combined with a large mass of low paid human resources, it would be very advantageous to both North and South to combine at first economicly by more trade between them.
For over 60 years the tensions put in place by US has been more through fear of a combined Economy of N. and S Koreas that would surpass that of Japan, Phillipines and SE Asian allied economies combined.
Long has US political Corporate and Economic leaders made S. Korea dependence of trade been an almost monopolistic undertaking, that has been greatly held back by those same interest installed hold over Japan’s economy.
At end of WWII Russia gave the Korean lands they had taken by defeating Japan back to its Rightful owners Korea, but the US alliances took control of South and put in place a harsh Corporate Industrial Dictatorship that lasted from 1946 through late 1960’s early 1970’s.
The US is not just owners of military facilities on mainland but a lot of offshore islands as well, all of which mirrored what happened to Okinawa and its islands at end of of WWIi, semi autonomous local governments for pure projection of US military power.
Would South Korea and N.Korea in turn try entering China’s Silk Road project in order to replace US financial losses, why not?
Why should S. Korea pay US for them to occupy Korean lands,?
If US wants to pay S. Korea for a lease , it would be better than reality of US still being an occupying military force.
Throw flags away and what is left for US to hide behind?
Hide, Congrats, you may be spot on! 🙂
It was a grave mistake for Korea to show weakness by agreeing to the indefinite (well, 20 years which may as well be forever) extension of 25% tariffs on Korean automotive products (SUVs and light trucks) when they were mutually agreed to be eliminated in 2021. Extortionists often come back for more.. and more.. and more.
I don’t doubt for a second that the very substantial forces in Korea cost us at least $5 billion/year. Nor do I doubt that if the South Koreans really felt threatened by the North they would happily pay it. Nor do I believe that any realistic amount of $$$ makes it worth it for us to risk getting drawn into a savage war we have no business being involved with.