South Korea—Seoul Balks At U.S. Demand For Significant Increase In Payments For Maintaining American Troops

Talks between South Korea and the United States on sharing the cost of American troops deployed on the peninsula have broken down, reports Reuters.  The U.S. has asked for South Korea to increase its contribution by 50 percent, a South Korean lawmaker said on Tuesday.  Washington wants Seoul to boost its spending from US$848 million to US$1.2 billion for the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, the lawmaker said.  The two sides are attempting to...