The Foreign Ministry said South Korea and the United States opened a new round of defense cost-sharing talks in Los Angeles on Tuesday local time.

Seoul's chief negotiator Jeong Eun-bo sat down with his American counterpart, James DeHart, for the seventh round of talks on renewing the allies' Special Measures Agreement(SMA).  

The talks come about two months after the previous SMA negotiations in Washington, amid growing concerns over potential furloughs for Korean employees in the U.S. Forces Korea(USFK).

In the two-day meeting, South Korea plans to engage in negotiations with the aim to strike a complete deal, but may seek to reach at least a partial agreement regarding the possible furloughs. 

However, the U.S. has reportedly taken the position that the two sides should first reach an agreement on the amount of defense costs to be paid by South Korea for the upkeep of U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula.  

Washington reportedly lowered its initial demand by one billion dollars and asked Seoul to pay roughly four billion dollars. However, South Korea is said to be insisting that its burden be increased by about ten percent.