Trump: US, South Korea to discuss increased funding for US military help as North Korea missile tests continue
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that South Korea has agreed to begin discussions about increasing payments to the United States for its military assistance.
"South Korea has agreed to pay substantially more money to the United States in order to defend itself from North Korea," Trump said in a pair of early morning Twitter posts.
"Talks have begun to further increase payments to the United States," he said. "South Korea is a very wealthy nation that now feels an obligation to contribute to the military defense provided by the United States of America."
Trump has long complained about the number of troops the United States has stationed in South Korea, and the costs of maintaining them. The U.S. has kept up to 28,500 troops in the country, a legacy of the 1953 armistice that stopped the Korean War.
In one of his tweets, Trump claimed South Korea paid the United States $990 million last year. The New York Times reported in February that South Korea agreed to pay $925 million this year.
...Talks have begun to further increase payments to the United States. South Korea is a very wealthy nation that now feels an obligation to contribute to the military defense provided by the United States of America. The relationship between the two countries is a very good one!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2019
Trump did not address renewed missile tests by North Korea, which leader Kim Jong Un said are a response to the latest round of joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea.
The South Korean government has not commented on the new talks announced by Trump.
The tweets came hours before Trump travels to Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas, to meet with the survivors of mass shootings in those cities over the weekend.
Trump's demands for more money from South Korea also come at a time of uncertainty over U.S. efforts to strike an agreement with North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons.
The North Korean news agency said Wednesday that leader Kim Jong Un supervised a demonstration of newly developed, short-range ballistic missiles in order to send a warning to the U.S. and South Korea.
Trump, who has met with Kim three times, has said he is not bothered by a spate of recent North Korean projectile tests because they involve short-range weapons.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump: South Korea, US plan to begin defense funding talks
