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Korea and the U.S. have agreed to cut Seoul's share in the upkeep for the U.S. Forces in Korea by 8.9 percent over the next two years to W68.04 billion (US$68 million). Last year's share came to W74.68 billion.
"The U.S. side officially notified us of the final agreement this morning," Kim Sook, head of the Foreign Ministry's North American Affairs Bureau, said during a briefing Tuesday. "This will be the first decrease since the cost sharing program started in 1991." The two sides also agreed that rather than paying in a mixture of U.S. dollars and Korean won, Seoul should pay the whole amount in won.
"The U.S. position was that the country where the troops were station needed to pay more,¡± Kim said. ¡°But we have to pay the additional costs of moving the Yongsan Garrison, and we couldn't ignore the sentiment of the man on the street who wanted costs to come down due to USFK reductions."
(Ahn Yong-gyun, agon@chosun.com )
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