[서화목] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced video consultations were held

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 30th that video consultations were held between negotiators from both sides to negotiate the 11th Korea-U.S. Special Agreement on Defense Cost Sharing (SMA). At the meeting, both South Korea and the U.S. checked the current status of SMA negotiations.

South Korea's ambassador to South Korea-U.S. defense cost sharing and U.S. State Department Defense Secretary Donna Welton agreed to work closely together to reach a fair and mutually acceptable agreement as soon as possible.

In addition to the negotiators from both sides, officials from the Foreign Ministry, the Defense Ministry, and the U.S. Department of Defense participated in the consultation.

Meanwhile, the 11th SMA was delayed due to conflicting views between the U.S. and South Korea that they could only accept a reasonable increase within the SMA negotiation framework, which was due at the end of last year.

In addition, the agreement has been delayed due to political issues in the U.S. such as the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) situation and the U.S. presidential election. The defense cost negotiations are expected to undergo significant changes in the wake of the launch of the Biden era.