South Korea and the U.S. reach a defense agreement...8.3% increase in 2026

U.S. Forces Korea Raises Defense Expenditure by 8.3%...Limit annual growth to 5%
Seoul and Washington agree to increase defense cost sharing by 8.3% in 2026
Expiration date of 5 years...Application of the annual growth rate 'Consumer Price Index'
Limit annual growth to 5% to prevent sharp hikes
Consultation on 'Retirement Pension System' for Koreans...Abolition of offshore asset maintenance support

[Anchor]
The Korean and U.S. governments have agreed to increase the cost of stationing U.S. troops in Korea by 8.3 percent in 2026.

The agreement is in effect for five years, but from 2026 onwards, it has been required to raise it in line with consumer price growth, while ensuring that the annual growth rate does not exceed 5%.

Reporter Hong Sun-ki will explain the agreement.

[Reporter]
By 2026, the amount of money that the Korean government has to pay the U.S. government to the U.S. government for the presence of U.S. troops in Korea will increase by 8.3% to KRW 1.51 trillion.

After eight consultations since April, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to the 12th Korea-U.S. Special Agreement on the Sharing of Defense Expenses, which calls for an increase of 116.4 billion won in defense contributions.

The increase was significantly reduced from 13.9% at the time of the 11th agreement, reaching a level similar to that at the time of the 10th agreement.

The validity of this agreement will be five years until 2030, and the annual growth rate will be applied to the consumer price index growth rate instead of the current defense expenditure growth rate.

Defense spending growth in the 11th agreement averaged 4.3%, while consumer price index growth in the 8th and 9th agreements was in the 2% range.

South Korea and the U.S. also agreed to ensure that annual growth rates do not exceed 5 percent to prevent contributions from rising sharply.

[Lee Jae-woong / Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson: While South Korea and the U.S. maintain the framework of the existing agreement, the reintroduction of the cap with the annual growth rate of the Consumer Price Index instead of the current growth rate of defense spending is considered an important achievement of the negotiations]

In addition, they agreed to hold detailed discussions on the introduction of a retirement pension system for Korean workers in the U.S. Forces Korea.

It also agreed to abolish support for the maintenance of U.S. military offshore assets, which has been continuously raised by the National Assembly.

Some analyzed that it could be over this year, but the point that the agreement ahead of the U.S. presidential election had the so-called "Trump risk" in mind also gained strength.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expected the next agreement to be concluded when the validity period of the current agreement remains sufficient, ensuring the parliament's deliberation period and helping to implement the agreement in a stable manner.

This is YTN Hong Seon-gi.

Filmmaker: Ko Min-cheol
Video editing: Seo Young-mi
Design: Lee Wonhee