U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview on Wednesday that his top priority if re-elected would be to improve the country's economy and have its allies account for a bigger share of costs to host American troops.
Trump told Fox News that when his term started, it was a “disaster” with only seven countries paying what they should, adding that the U.S. was paying for “everybody.” He then ensured that other countries will pay.
Last month, the Pentagon said it will be sending home about 64-hundred of its military personnel in Germany, and move nearly 56-hundred to other NATO countries, including Italy and Belgium.
The latest comments are expected to lead to increased pressure from Washington to have South Korea pay more to maintain the 28-thousand-500 American troops stationed within its borders.
The U.S. and South Korea have held seven rounds of cost-sharing negotiations from September 2019 through March of this year. South Korea is seeking a 13-percent increase, while the U.S. is demanding a near 50-percent hike to one-point-three billion dollars.