US, South Korea Reach Deal on Funding Workers on US Bases

After months of failed talks, the Pentagon confirmed on Wednesday that they have agreed to a deal on the fate of South Korean workers at US military bases. The workers were laid off indefinitely by the US in late March over cost-sharing questions.

Under the new deal, South Korea will pay 100% of the costs of the 4,000 laid off workers to work for the US for the rest of the year. This is meant to provide more time for the two sides to work on a long-term deal on cost-sharing.

The two nations have worked on cost-sharing for months now, after a previous deal was scrapped by the US and Trump demanded vastly more South Korean funding. South Korea has so far been rejected on offers to compromise, and no deal is reached.

The US laying off those workers was seen as negotiating leverage at the time, but with no deal imminent, they appear to have decided getting South Korea to pay the workers entirely for the rest of the year, meaning the US gets their work for free, is a good deal for now.