The South Korean flag and the U.S. flag. The South Korean and U.S. flags flying at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Imjingak, Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Yonhap News

It has been reported by U.S. media that the U.S. administration considered demanding that South Korea increase its defense spending to 3.8% of its gross domestic product (GDP) during the U.S.-Korea trade negotiations concluded late last month.

Furthermore, it was reported that a request for the South Korean government to publicly express its support for the "strategic flexibility" of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)—which implies broadening the role and operational scope of U.S. troops in Korea to counter China—was also among the issues the U.S. had considered proposing.

The Washington Post (WP) reported this on the 9th (local time), citing internal U.S. government documents it had obtained. The article highlighted instances in which the Trump administration attempted to leverage tariffs to extract diplomatic, security, and political concessions from other nations.

According to the "initial draft of the U.S.-Korea agreement" reported by the WP, the U.S. wanted South Korea to increase its defense spending—which was 2.6% of its GDP as of last year—to 3.8%, and to increase its share of defense cost-sharing (the amount South Korea pays for the stationing of USFK troops).

The draft also included a requirement that South Korea "issue a political statement supporting the flexibility of the U.S. military posture in Korea (also known as strategic flexibility) to better deter China while continuing to deter North Korea."

These points were raised by various U.S. government departments as items to demand from South Korea ahead of the U.S.-Korea trade negotiations.

It has not been immediately confirmed whether the U.S. actually made these demands during the course of the tariff negotiations. Security issues were not included in the announcements made by both countries regarding the trade agreement late last month, and the South Korean government previously stated that issues such as defense cost-sharing were not discussed during the process of reaching the trade deal.

However, if the contents of this report are true, the position of the Trump administration has been made somewhat clear, regardless of whether these demands were already formally presented to South Korea.

In other words, one can infer that it is the position of the U.S. government to seek a near 50% increase in South Korea's defense spending and to obtain the South Korean government's public consent to the "strategic flexibility" of U.S. Forces Korea.

Consequently, there is speculation that U.S. demands regarding an increase in South Korea's defense spending and support for strategic flexibility may be concretized during the upcoming U.S.-Korea summit, which could be held in Washington D.C. as early as this month.

Yonhap News