A threatened furlough of South Korean workers at U.S. bases in South Korea is one step closer after a seventh round of talks between Seoul and Washington on cost sharing once again failed to produce an agreement.

South Korea and the United States wrapped up three days of talks in Los Angeles on Thursday to renew the Special Measures Agreement(SMA), which determines Seoul's share of the costs of stationing U.S. troops in the country.

The South Korean Foreign Ministry said Friday that while differences in position still exist, the two sides had agreed to closely cooperate to minimize the vacuum and contribute to the Korea-U.S. alliance and allied defense posture by quickly reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.

During the talks, the first in two months, South Korean delegates had planned to first reach an agreement on personnel costs to prevent a furlough in the event that a comprehensive agreement could not be reached.

The U.S. side opposed this, however, arguing that focusing on personnel costs could gravely harm efforts to quickly reach a comprehensive SMA.