The negotiations over the Special Measures Agreement, known as the SMA, strained the US-South Korea alliance during the Trump administration. Former President Donald Trump demanded Seoul pay up to 400% more for the presence of the 28,500 US troops in the country during negotiations over the current agreement. Under the current agreement, South Korea pays about $1 billion annually, representing an increase of about 13.9% over previous SMAs. Earlier this year, Trump said that he did not think the South Korea is paying enough based on the last agreement. One complication is that a deal will have to be approved by South Korea’s national assembly — which is dominated by the opposition party to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

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Persons: —, Trump, Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un’s, Joe Biden, ” Trump, Yoon Suk, “, ”, David Maxwell Organizations: CNN, Seoul, South, State Department, ROK, South Korean Ministry of Foreign, Biden, Defense Department, Biden Administration, US, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Trump Locations: Washington, Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Korea