Trump said at a cabinet meeting in Washington on Tuesday Seoul had agreed to pay $500 million more as part of an agreement sharing the cost of keeping roughly 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea. "They were paying about $500 million for $5 billion worth of protection," Trump said. Under the previous agreement - which lapsed amid disagreements in December - South Korea contributed $857 million won in 2018. Washington demanded during the negotiations that South Korea pay 50% more than its 2018 contribution, according to South Korean officials. Trump said in his cabinet comments on Tuesday the relationship with South Korea was "great" but that the United States lost "a tremendous amount of money" defending its ally.

Source: Dhaka Tribune February 13, 2019 11:37 UTC