Finance minister says defense payments not under review for tariff talks with US

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday said the cost for stationing the US Forces Korea is not currently among the agenda issues being reviewed for tariff talks with the United States.

"Talks on defense payments are not being reviewed at the moment," Choi told a parliamentary interpellation session, when asked whether discussions are under way to adjust South Korea's share of the cost for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong USFK.

When asked whether the issue could be included in the Trump administration's proposed "package deal" on tariffs and security issues, Choi said while he is aware of public interest in the issue, it is not among the agenda items the South Korean government is currently preparing to handle.

The finance minister, meanwhile, said a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska could serve as a potential bargaining chip in the bilateral trade talks.

US President Donald Trump recently highlighted the interest of South Korea and other countries in partnering with the US to build a pipeline from the North Slope, a region with massive proven reserves of natural gas, to southern Alaska, where the gas would be liquefied for shipments, primarily to Asia.

Choi, however, said discussions with US officials on how negotiations should proceed in the areas of LNG, shipbuilding and trade balance should come first at the current stage.

"Only national interest will be the standard for a decision," Choi said, when asked about the economic feasibility of the project, adding such concerns will be sufficiently reviewed.

Following his first phone call with South Korea's acting President Han Duck-soo, Trump said they discussed a range of issues, including South Korea's defense payments, trade surplus with the US, the purchase of US LNG and bilateral shipbuilding cooperation. (Yonhap)