South Korea's National Security Council on Thursday discussed how to cope with pressure from the United States to sharply raise Seoul's financial burden for the presence of American troops here.

In the weekly session of the NSC's standing committee, its members also reviewed the situation following South Korea's decision to suspend the efficacy of its Aug. 22 decision to terminate a pact with Japan on sharing military intelligence.

They then "discussed ways to resolve pending issues between South Korea and Japan," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.



The meeting came a week after Cheong Wa Dae announced the decision to keep GSOMIA alive on a conditional basis, which means its fate will be tied to Japan's attitude on its existing export curbs against Seoul going forward. It was presided over by Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's national security office.

Cheong Wa Dae did not reveal whether the NSC members had touched on North Korea's latest firing of an unidentified projectile.

Its three-paragraph press statement on the results of the NSC session was released almost simultaneously with the military's announcement that it has detected the North's launch. The NSC meeting might have ended before the North's move.

The US is reportedly calling for an approximately fivefold increase in South Korea's contribution to the US Forces Korea to $5 billion.

The allies are in talks on the related Special Measures Agreement and are apparently struggling to make progress. (Yonhap)