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US Military Furloughs Thousands of South Korean Workers

William Gallo

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Thousands of South Korean workers on U.S. bases
   were placed on unpaid leave Wednesday, after the UnitedStatesand South
   Korea failed to reach a deal on how to split the cost of the U.S.
   military presence here.

   Through seven rounds of talks, South Korea has refused the Trump
   administration's demand to massively increase its contribution toward
   the approximately 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

   The latest cost-sharing deal expired at the end of the year, but the
   U.S. had been covering the salaries of Korean employees with funds that
   ran out this week.

   Starting Wednesday, about 4,000 Korean civilian employees, who work in
   areas such as logistics and administration, will be indefinitely
   furloughed. The U.S. will temporarily cover the salaries of about 4,500
   others whose duties are considered essential, U.S. officials said.

   The cost-sharing dispute has caused unusual friction in the 70-year-old
   alliance that both sides regularly refer to as "ironclad." The friction
   is especially ill-timed, coming as the U.S. military fights off the
   coronavirus and as North Korea test-fires a record number of
   short-range missiles.

   During a last-minute push to reach a deal, the head South Korean
   negotiator,JeongEun-bo, said the two sides had reached the "final
   stages for sealing a deal," but called the furloughs "regrettable."

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