Officials from South Korea and the United States met in Seoul last week to continue discussions on defense cost sharing between the allies.
But after two days of talks, the sixth round of their kind, it's clear, they're still not able to reach a deal they'd both be happy with.
Kan Hyeong-woo reports.
South Korea and the United States continued their talks late last week in Seoul... on sharing defense costs.
It seems they're still trying to narrow down their differences, but at the same time, they see eye to eye on the need to further improve their communication.

An official at South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday that the allies were unable to reach an agreement on the key points,. including how much South Korea should pay in total and Washington's demand that Seoul pay for a new category of expenses called "operational support," which is for American troops outside the Peninsula. This "operational support" includes the deployment of aircraft carriers, long-range bombers and nuclear submarines.

Under the latest five year deal, as of 2018, South Korea pays around 856 million U.S. dollars to have U.S. troops on its soil, which experts say is around 40 to 50 percent of the total bill.

But Seoul is standing firm that it can spend money in three areas, which are payroll, construction and logistics,… as it has in the past.

The 2014 agreement on sharing the costs of America's defense of its ally will expire by the end of this year. So South Korea aims to conclude the talks with the U.S. before November as it is expected to take at least two or three months to get the National Assembly's approval,… but the Foreign Ministry official noted that the agreement terms are more important than simply meeting the deadline.

Seoul and Washington plan to hold another round of talks in the U.S. next month.
Kan Hyeong-woo, Arirang News