South Korea and the United States will hold a new round of defense cost-sharing talks in Los Angeles this week, amid growing concerns over potential furloughs for Korean employees in the U.S. Forces Korea(USFK).

A South Korean delegation led by top negotiator Jeong Eun-bo will fly to Los Angeles on Monday afternoon for the seventh round of negotiations on the Special Measures Agreement(SMA) set for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The talks come about two months after the previous SMA negotiations in Washington.

In the talks, South Korea plans to engage in negotiations to strike a deal within this month, but may seek to reach at least a partial agreement regarding the possible furloughs for South Korean workers at U.S. military bases in South Korea. 

Washington reportedly lowered its initial demand by one billion dollars and asked Seoul to pay roughly four billion dollars to cover the cost of stationing U.S. Forces Korea on the peninsula this year. Seoul still regards the cost as unrealistic.