A senior official at the U.S. Department of State said Seoul and Washington are a "little further afield" than they were in the previous round of negotiations to renew their defense cost-sharing deal.

According to a transcript of a background briefing with reporters on Wednesday, the official said the passing of the deal’s deadline on December 31 of last year has pushed the allies to take a step forward.

The official said there has been a bit more of a "recognition or reality check amongst South Korea" regarding how serious the U.S. is in seeking partnership on burden-sharing.

Regarding concerns over a possible rift between the allies, the official said Washington's alliance with Seoul is ironclad and that the U.S. has no intention to walk away from it.

During the previous five rounds of talks, the U.S. reportedly demanded a fivefold increase in South Korea's contribution to stationing American troops on the Korean Peninsula, from about 870 million dollars in 2019 to five billion dollars.

The allies are expected to resume negotiations in Washington next week.