Foreign ministers of ROK, US hold phone talks over GSOMIA, defense cost-sharing

SEOUL - Foreign ministers of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States held phone talks Thursday night over the soon-to-expire military intelligence-sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo, and how much ROK would pay for US troops stationed here, the Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.

ROK's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo exchanged opinions on the issues of mutual concern, including the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) and the defense cost-sharing for the US Forces Korea (USFK), the ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers agreed to continue close communications on various issues in every level, sharing the need for them to sit down face-to-face for in-depth discussions in a foreseeable future.

The phone talks came ahead of the scheduled expiration on Saturday of the GSOMIA, which was signed by ROK and Japan in November 2016 to share military intelligence on nuclear and missile programs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

ROK decided in August to terminate the military accord in response to Japan's tighter control in July over its export to ROK of three materials, vital to produce memory chips and display panels that are the mainstay of the ROK's export.

Japan's export curbs came in an apparent protest against the ROK's top court's rulings that ordered some of Japanese firms to pay reparation to the ROK's victims who were forced into hard labor without pay during the 1910-45 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.

Negotiations on the 11th Special Measures Agreement (SMA) to decide how much ROK would pay for the stationing of about $28,500 here were cut short on Tuesday.

The United States reportedly demanded around $5 billion from ROK for next year's upkeep cost for US soldiers here. ROK agreed to pay about $870 million this year.

The 10th SMA, which was signed in March, was set to expire by the end of this year. Since 1991, ROK has shared the defense cost for the USFK, including costs for ROK's civilians hired by the USFK, for construction of military facilities and for logistics support.