Troop costs, China in focus when South Korea’s Lee meets Trump

Sign up now: Get STs newsletters delivered to your inbox

Mr Lee (left) and Mr Trump are likely to see eye to eye on North Korea, with both open to engaging its leader Kim Jong Un.

PHOTOS: REUTERS, EPA

WASHINGTON/SEOUL - When South Korean President Lee Jae Myung meets US President Donald Trump next week for their first summit, he will face calls to pay more for the upkeep of American troops on the peninsula with security issues expected to be among the top agenda items.

Left largely out of the frantic trade talks that culminated in an unwritten deal in July, questions over the future of the South Korea-US alliance and the approach to nuclear-armed North Korea will be a key part of the White House discussions, officials and analysts said.

A thorny issue for Mr Lee may be Mr Trump’s push for Seoul to pay significantly more for the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a key area of focus would be so-called burden sharing, and Mr Trump is expected to push the South Koreans for more.

Mr Victor Cha, of Washington’s Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Seoul is providing over US$1 billion (S$1.29 billion) a year to support the US troop presence and also paid to build the largest US base overseas, Camp Humphreys.

“But President Trump clearly wants more,” Mr Cha said, noting his past calls for Seoul to pay US$5 billion or even US$10 billion.