WASHINGTON – The US and South Korea have reached a tentative new five-year cost-sharing agreement for US forces based in South Korea, US and South Korean authorities announced Friday, in a deal that would safeguard the long-running alliance ahead of a potential victory by former President Donald Trump in November.

The current agreement does not expire until the end of 2025, but both sides felt a sense of urgency to accomplish the deal ahead of a possible second Trump administration, two US officials and two former US officials familiar with the discussions previously told CNN. Negotiations over the Special Measures Agreement, known as the SMA, strained the alliance during the Trump administration, and the former president 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 new agreement, South Korea would contribute KRW ($1.13 billion) to the cost of stationing US troops in Korea in 2026, which is an increase of 8.3% over the cost of 2025, Seoul’s foreign ministry said. The new agreement would come into effect in 2026 and last until 2030. It has to be approved by South Korea’s national assembly, which is dominated by the opposition party to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and the US Congress has no role finalizing a deal on the American side.

Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said in a statement that the new agreement was reached after eight rounds of negotiations.

Advocates argue that a significant US troop presence in the Korean Peninsula is crucial to strengthening the alliance between the two countries. The troops are important to both countries as a means to deter any potential attack from North Korea as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to build its nuclear arsenal and as a way of bolstering the US presence in the region to counter China’s aggression.

There was more urgency to get the deal done before the end of the year on the Korean side given the tumult of the previous round of negotiations, officials said. Some officials feared that getting an agreement done now could trigger criticism from Trump, and they did not want the alliance to be in the former president’s line of fire if he wins the election in November. (CNN)…[+]