The United States has requested South Korea and Japan to share military burden, as it will cut defense spending amid expanding financial crisis.

According to officials present at the Trilateral Dialogue in Northeast Asia in Washington D.C. from December 14 to 15, U.S. officials had cited the burgeoning debt of the Western nation as its reason for such a request.

One South Korean participant in the talks said the issue should be dealt with carefully due its sensitivity, adding that China's response must also considered if trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan continues to grow.