South Korea and the U.S. are set to hold a third round of defense cost-sharing negotiations next week. 

The Foreign Ministry revealed on Friday that the two-day talks on the Special Measures Agreement(SMA) for next year will be held in Seoul from Monday.  

The ministry said the South Korean government will hold close discussions with the U.S. while maintaining its basic stance that the defense cost should be shared in a reasonable and fair manner. 

It said the the talks will also aim to strengthen the bilateral alliance and joint defense posture. 

U.S. military leaders visited Seoul this week and put pressure on South Korea to sharply increase its contribution by five-fold for next year. 

The next round of defense cost-sharing talks will again be led by South Korea's top negotiator Jeong Eun-bo and his U.S. counterpart, James DeHart.