OREANDA-NEWS. Representatives of the Republic of Korea and the United States were unable to achieve progress in the third round of negotiations on the distribution of defense spending, including the upkeep of American troops in an Asian country. This is stated in the press release of the Foreign Ministry, published on Tuesday following a two-day dialogue in Seoul.

"The American side insists on introducing a new clause in the agreement on the distribution of military spending, which will reflect a sharp increase in the share of South Korea. Seoul says that this growth should be reasonable and acceptable within the framework of existing agreements", the statement said. "Be that as it may, the South Korean side intends to do everything in its power so that its financial contribution to strengthening the military alliance with the United States is reasonable and fair", the ministry said.

Last year, the US side announced the need for a significant increase in South Korea’s spending, as maintaining a 28,000-strong military contingent costs Washington about $ 5 billion a year. Seoul's spending on maintaining the US contingent in 2019 was increased by 8.2%, to 1.04 trillion won ($ 915 million).