U.S. experts say that requesting five billion dollars in defense costs from South Korea is too excessive and will lead to negative results for America even if it went through. 

David Maxwell, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a Friday seminar in Washington that negotiations are more contentious and complex due to the new categories of support and the end of the year deadline is approaching fast.

He said the main concern that makes the negotiations complicated is President Donald Trump's perception that South Korea is free riding on defense.

Maxwell rejected this view and cited Seoul's defense expenditure, its large purchase of U.S. military equipment and considerable contribution to the construction of Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek.

He questioned whether U.S. alliances were turning into a purely monetary transactional relationship rather than based on shared interests, values and strategies.

Other participants in the forum voiced similar views. Kyle Ferrier, director of academic affairs at the Korea Economic Institute, also said that Washington was focused on a narrow view of simply the cost aspect while Korea focuses on much wider issues regarding the alliance.

He also noted that Korea spends a great portion of its gross domestic product on defense, much higher than any NATO ally.