Trump wants South Korea to pay more for US troops on their ground

Share the costs for the hosts of US troops in the Allied countries has been a popular topic of US President Donald Trump since his first term in the White House.

But when more and more countries are trying to rule out a deal to escape the specter of the tariffs in his second term, Trump takes his own steps: negotiations on trade, tariffs and defense cost participation a single comprehensive deal, which he described as “one-stop shopping”.

Such a country is South Korea, in which around 28,500 US troops are known, which are known as the US armed forces. On April 8, Trump wrote about the social of truth that he discussed “payment for the great military protection we offer South Korea”, among other things.

“We attach other topics that are not covered by trade and tariffs and also let them negotiate.” One stop shopping “is a beautiful and efficient process !!!” Trump wrote.

While the South Korean officials reported that the defense payments were out of the table, the two leading presidential candidates of the country, Lee Jae myung and Kim Moon-Eso, have indicated that they are open to the discussion of a contract for the cost section of the defense costs.

However, analysts said CNBC that a transaction approach would not necessarily work in favor of the USA.

At the Munich Security Conference in February, the then defense minister of the Ssingapore, ng narrow, said “it was said that trading and security are two sides of the same medal, and it is assumed that the shift in trade dependencies will follow the security.”

But the picture of the United States in Asia, said NG, “has changed from the liberator to a great interferer to a landlord who is looking for rent.”

The US President will probably increase defense payments in trade talks, Bruce Bennett, professor of political analyzes on the Rand School of Public Policy, told CNBC.

“This is how he does business,” said Bennett. “So it is not as if he definitely wants to bring troops home, but it is a matter that he wants to have the recognition and acceptance of the responsibility of our alliesPresent“He added.

This was the attitude that we represented under Defense Minister Elbridge Colby, who said in an interview of 2024 that the US armed forces should be revised in order to be “relevant” for the treatment of China in contrast to North Korea.

One possibility, like South Korea “pay more”, is to invest in its armed forces and to buy more US military equipment, said Bennett.

This will enable the South Korean military to close all ability gaps and at the same time concentrate the US armed forces Korea more in China, he added.

“[If] The Korean government says that we volunteer to … increase our budget by 3 or 4 billion US dollars. We will use it to buy devices so that the United States can have a shift in the focus. I think that would make a big contribution to making the president's interests. “

South Korea spent 2.6% of its GDP for defense in 2024, more than the global average of 2.5% and one of the highest in the world, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

In 2025, the country increased 61.25 trillion South Korean Won ($ 43.83 billion) for defense or an increase of 3.1% compared to the previous year.

Such a transactional approach will damage the credibility of the United States, said Hoshik Nam, assistant professor at the Department of Sociology and Political Science at Jacksonville State University.

The use of the use of the US armed forces as a leverage in trade negotiations could lead to close allies to perceive the US obligations as less credible.

“In the long term, this position could redesign the USA as an isolated superpower.”

South Korea was not obliged to make a financial contribution to a 1966 troops stationed in the country in 1966.

In 1991 the cost sharing became a characteristic of the Allianz when Seoul agreed to share some of the burden to station US troops in three areas, namely logistics, local work and military construction work.

Nam said that the fast economic growth of South Korea from the 1960s led to the conditions for the distribution of costs.

“Both countries also agreed that their relationship should go beyond a simple aid and recipient dynamics,” he noted.

The funds provided by the South Korean government have also created local jobs and helped local industries, said Nam.

“With regard to the construction, most of the projects are carried out by Korean construction companies. In terms of logistics, the devices, services and facilities are supplied by Korean companies,” emphasized Nam.

In October 2024, Seoul agreed to increase his contribution to the hosts of US troops in 2026 by 8.3% to 1.52 trillion WON (1.13 billion US dollars).

Trump's “One Stop Shopping” Chairp to the bundle of trade with defense agreements could, however, be at risk the recent cost division by the bidet management, since the agreement of 2024 covers the period from 2026-2030.