Trump needs a ‘one-stop buying groceries’ take care of South Korea on business and protection, however there’s a charge

Sharing the prices of internet hosting U.S. troops in allied international locations has been a favourite subject of U.S. President Donald Trump since his first time period within the White House.

But as extra international locations attempt to eke out a deal to flee the spectre of price lists in his 2d time period, Trump is making his personal strikes: bundling negotiations on business, price lists, and protection cost-sharing right into a unmarried complete deal, which he referred to as “one-stop shopping.”

One such nation in his points of interest is South Korea, which is house to about 28,500 U.S. troops referred to as U.S. Forces Korea. On April 8, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had mentioned “payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea,” amongst different problems, with then-acting president Han Duck-soo.

“We are bringing up other subjects that are not covered by Trade and Tariffs, and getting them negotiated also. “ONE STOP SHOPPING” is a beautiful and efficient process!!!” Trump wrote.

While South Korean officers have reportedly mentioned that protection bills are off the desk, the rustic’s two main presidential applicants, Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo, have hinted that they’re open to discussing a protection cost-sharing settlement.

However, analysts instructed CNBC {that a} transactional way would not essentially paintings within the U.S.’s choose.

At the Munich Security Conference in February, then-Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen mentioned, “It has been said that trade and security are two sides of the same coin, and one assumes that as trade dependencies shift, security alliances will follow.”

But, the picture of the U.S. in Asia, Ng mentioned, “has changed from liberator to great disruptor to a landlord seeking rent.”

The U.S. president is prone to carry protection bills up in business talks, Bruce Bennett, Professor of Policy Analysis on the RAND School of Public Policy, instructed CNBC.

“It’s the way he does business,” Bennett mentioned. “So it’s not like he definitely wants to bring troops home, but it is a matter that he wants the recognition and the acceptance of responsibility from our allies,” he added.

This was once the stance espoused by way of U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, who mentioned in a 2024 interview that U.S. Forces Korea must be overhauled to be “more relevant” to dealing with China, versus North Korea.

One manner South Korea may “pay more” is by way of making an investment in its forces and purchasing extra U.S. army apparatus, Bennett mentioned.

This will allow the South Korean army to plug any capacity gaps whilst permitting U.S. Forces Korea to focal point extra on China, he added.

“[If] the Korean government says we’re volunteering to …raise our budget by $3 or $4 billion, we’re going to use it to buy equipment so that the U.S. can have a shift in focus, I think that would go a long way to meeting the President’s interests.”

South Korea spent 2.6% of its GDP on protection in 2024, greater than the worldwide moderate of 2.5%, and some of the very best on this planet, in keeping with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

In 2025, the rustic allotted 61.25 trillion South Korean gained ($43.83 billion) for protection, or a 3.1% build up from the yr earlier than.

However, any such transactional way will injury U.S. credibility, Hoshik Nam, assistant professor on the Department of Sociology and Political Science at Jacksonville State University, mentioned.

Using the deployment of U.S. forces as leverage in business negotiations may lead shut allies to understand U.S. commitments as much less credible, Nam added.

“In the long term, this position could reframe the U.S. as an isolated superpower.”

South Korea wasn’t required to make any monetary contribution in its authentic 1966 settlement with the united stateson troops stationed within the nation, referred to as the Status of Forces Agreement.

Cost sharing handiest turned into a characteristic of the alliance in 1991, when Seoul agreed to proportion one of the most burden of stationing U.S. troops in 3 spaces, specifically logistics, native exertions, and army building.

Nam defined that South Korea’s speedy financial expansion from the 1960s created the prerequisites for cost-sharing.

“Both countries also agreed that their relationship should move beyond a simple aid-provider and recipient dynamic,” he famous.

The budget supplied by way of the South Korean govt additionally created native jobs and helped native industries, Nam mentioned.

“Regarding construction, most projects are carried out by Korean construction companies. In terms of logistics, the equipment, services, and facilities are all supplied by Korean companies,” Nam highlighted.

In October 2024, Seoul agreed to elevate its contribution for internet hosting U.S. troops by way of 8.3% in 2026, to 1.52 trillion gained ($1.13 billion).

However, Trump’s ‘one quit buying groceries’ stance to package business with protection agreements may throw the newest cost-sharing settlement by way of the Biden management into jeopardy, for the reason that the 2024 settlement covers the length of 2026-2030.