South Korea has agreed to pay 1.0389 trillion won, or around $920 million, up from the 960 billion won a year it paid from 2014 to 2018. The United States and South Korea expressed satisfaction with the deal, known as the Special Measures Agreement or SMA. South Korea hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops on more than 20 sites, while Japan hosts around 54,000, around half on the island of Okinawa. If the United States is seen as “extortionist” in the negotiations, it could undermine public support for the alliance in South Korea, he said. Tokyo will argue it is anything but a “free-rider,” especially because it is making significant purchases of F-35s and the Aegis Ashore missile defense system from the United States.

Source: Washington Post February 10, 2019 08:37 UTC