Ambassador to the U.S. "There is no possibility of demanding renegotiation of U.S. defense costs." "I can't talk".

Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong said that if former U.S. President Donald Trump is elected in the presidential election, he could not rule out the possibility of demanding a renegotiation of the recently concluded defense cost of the U.S. Forces Korea.

When asked about Trump's risks regarding defense cost-sharing negotiations at the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's parliamentary audit at the Embassy of the U.S. in Washington, DC on the 11th, Ambassador Cho said the U.S., which does not get parliamentary ratification, cannot rule out the possibility of demanding renegotiations according to the president's authority.

Ambassador Cho, however, stressed that no matter what the situation comes, he will respond based on the reasonable level agreed upon this time.

Earlier this month, South Korea and the U.S. decided to set the 2026 contribution at 1.519.2 trillion won, up 8.3% from 2025, and signed a defense cost-sharing agreement to reflect the growth rate of the consumer price index when raising the contribution every year by 2030.