Comments on: US-ROK Cost Sharing Agreement Reached

By: South Korean Perceptions of the US Military Presence in Korea

South Korean Perceptions of the US Military Presence in Korea — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:21:34 +0000

[...] USFK, they don’t even contribute half the cost of the US-ROK alliance and in fact last year sent more money to North Korea then what they paid to maintain the alliance. The fight to get Korea to properly fund the [...]

By: Ambassador Vershbow Calls for Equal US-ROK Cost Sharing

Ambassador Vershbow Calls for Equal US-ROK Cost Sharing — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:18:31 +0000

[...] may remember that under the Roh Moo-hyun administration the South Korean government actually sent more money to fund North Korea then they did to properly fund the US-ROK Alliance. Lee Myung-bak has been saying a lot of good [...]

By: "Spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration" is Alive and Well at ROK Drop

"Spirit of the June 15 Joint Declaration" is Alive and Well at ROK Drop — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:06:18 +0000

[...] aid and money continues to flow one way and that is north as the Roh Moo-hyun regime has decided to fund North Korea with more money than he funds the US-ROK alliance. All this aid in return for nothing is all legitimized because it [...]

By: MilBlogs (Daily Archive)

MilBlogs (Daily Archive) — Wed, 09 May 2007 08:04:35 +0000

[...] of the US-ROK alliance only weeks after making the agreement undiplomatic? Isn’t giving over a billion dollars this year to North Korea while denying USFK the agreed upon money for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance, which is no where [...]

By: Bell Hints at USFK Transformation Review at ROK Drop

Bell Hints at USFK Transformation Review at ROK Drop — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 06:59:43 +0000

[...] many of you may remember, last year South Korea decided they would rather send a over a billion dollars to North Korea this year rather than properly fund the US-ROK alliance. Well now the impacts from this decision [...]

By: Wartime Control Delayed to 2012 at ROK Drop

Wartime Control Delayed to 2012 at ROK Drop — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:10:11 +0000

[...] agreement that the article is referring to is when the Korean government made prior deals to fund USFK and the Camp Humphreys relocation.Â However, once Secretary Rumsfeld was dumped the Korean [...]

By: Have A Baby, Save $40 Bucks at ROK Drop

Have A Baby, Save $40 Bucks at ROK Drop — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 10:59:54 +0000

[...] So obviously this latest great idea isn’t going to do any good.Â If the government really wants to improve the birth rate they need to take on the real problem and that is the education system.Â Either the system needs to be reformed or the government needs to provide families who have three kids or more with economic assistance to pay for the education costs.Â I guarantee the government will improve the birth rate significantly if they agree to pay in full the education costs for the third baby of any family.Â This would cost a lot of money, but I’m willing to bet it would be money better spent than sending over one billion dollars to North Korea next year.Â [...]

By: OneFreeKorea » Sounds Like a Job for ‘The Dog’

OneFreeKorea » Sounds Like a Job for ‘The Dog’ — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 06:23:41 +0000

[...] Of course, South Korea, a KEDO member, is paying the North Korean regime a cool billion in direct aid this year.Â Maybe some sort of garnishment is in order.Â Either that, or a very angry letter. [...]

By: Setting Conditions for the Second Inter-Korean Summit at ROK Drop

Setting Conditions for the Second Inter-Korean Summit at ROK Drop — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:41:33 +0000

[...] All this aid is just a bribe to get Kim Jong-il to agree to a second inter-Korean summit.Â The first inter-Korean summit in 2000, was agreed to after than President Kim Dae-jung paid off Kim Jong-il with $500 million dollars.Â President Roh Moo-hyun can’t just bribe Kim Jong-il like Kim Dae-jung did so he has instead disguised the bribes as increased economic assistance to a tune of over one billion dollars in aid to North Korea this year.Â President Roh wants, what I call the "World’s Most Expensive Photo Op", which he believes will give him some kind of legacy once his presidency ends this year.Â The leftists in South Korea on the other hand believe that a inter-Korean summit will give them momentum going into this year’s presidential elections against the conservative candidates when Kim Jong-il makes vague promises of inter-Korean unity and cooperation he has no intention of keeping.Â [...]

By: Camp Humphreys Relocation to Be Delayed? at ROK Drop

Camp Humphreys Relocation to Be Delayed? at ROK Drop — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 04:57:47 +0000

[...] Those of us who have served in Korea for awhile knew the 2008 timeline wasn’t going to happen, but 2013 give me a break? The Korean government has never wanted to allow the USFK relocation to Camp Humphreys just like they have never really wanted to take operational control from USFK either. Both the Yongsan and the operational control issues have long served as great cannonfodder by South Korean politicians looking to demagoge the issue to their own political advantage. Plus the Koreans have never wanted to fully fund the move despite all the prime real estate they are gaining from the closed out USFK facilities. Heck they won’t even properly fund the US-ROK Alliance while giving over a billion dollars to North Korea a year! You also have the Fifth Column in South Korea, organized by North Korean agents that want to stop the move because North Korea wants to keep 2ID and USFK locked into their current locations that are well within artillery range of North Korea which would mean their easy destruction during war time. Additionally the locations of the bases, particularly Yongsan have been completely surrounded by urban cities which has led to accidents and incidents with the Korean public that gets demagoged by the North Korean sponsored anti-US activists groups in order to draw a wedge between USFK and the general Korean public. The consolidation of US forces would remove all US forces out of North Korean artillery range and additionally under the ballistic missile protection of US Army PATRIOT missile batteries. This would create better force protection for USFK forces along with giving USFK commanders more flexibility during war time. [...]