SEOUL, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- South Korea and the United States failed to reach an accord Wednesday on how to share the cost of keeping American troops in the country this year.
Senior officials from the two nations ended two days of talks in Seoul after failing to narrow gaps over the total expenses be born by South Korea, with a group of lawmakers and civic activists calling for a drastic cut in the country's share of the defense costs.
South Korea has shared the cost of stationing U.S. soldiers in the country since 1991, when it paid $150 million. Its share has more than quadrupled to $623 million in 2004.
Seoul wants a reduction in its share, citing ongoing cutbacks of U.S. troops in South Korea. The U.S. has already removed several thousand troops from the peninsula as part of a long-term plan to downsize the original force of 37,500 by one-third before September 2008.
But Washington wants South Korea's share of expenses to rise 10 percent from last year, saying it is necessary to modernize the U.S. troops.
