The seventh round of the 12th South Korea -U.S. Special Measures Agreement(SMA) to determine the share of defense cost to station the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) concluded on Thursday.

With the meeting taking place in Seoul from August 27 to 29, an official from Seoul's foreign ministry said substantial progress was made on major issues of interest during the latest round of talks, adding that the two countries plan to continue discussions in the future.

America's chief negotiator Linda Specht also said in a statement that the U.S. and South Korean delegations have made good progress toward a fair and equitable agreement.

Since the first round of talks in late April, the allies have held the SMA negotiation meeting once or twice a month.

The 11th SMA was signed in 2021 and is valid until the end of 2025.