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한미 양국이 주한미군 방위비분담금 특별협정(S MA)을 체결하기 위한 최종 협상을 진행할 예정인 가운데 미국이 올해 우리가 부담할 분담금으로 최소 9천500억원 정도를 완강하게 요구중인 것으로 알려졌다.
이는 지난해 분담금 총액인 8천695억원보다 9.2%(805억원) 정도 증가한 규모로 우리 정부 입장과는 상당한 차이가 있다. 정부는 그동안 상식적인 수준에서의 조정을 미국에 요구해왔다.
정부 안팎에서는 대체로 지난해 분담금에서 물가상승률 정도를 반영한 9천억원 정도를 상식적인 증액 수준으로 간주해 왔다. 이는 지난해까지 적용된 8차 SMA에서의 연도별 인상률 상한선(4%)을 적용한 수치다.
한 정부 소식통은 5일 "미국이 돈 문제로 이렇게까지 완강하게 나온 적은 없었던 것 같다"고 전했다.
일각에서는 방위비 분담 총액이 9천억원을 넘을 경우 국회 비준시 어려움이 있을 수 있다는 지적도 제기되고 있다. 가장 최근인 2009년 체결된 제8차 SMA에서의 증액 규모는 전년대비 185억원이었다.
우리 정부는 지난해 연말 서울에서 진행된 협상에서 국내 여건을 고려할 때 대폭 증액은 어렵다는 점을 미측에 적극적으로 알린 것으로 전해졌다.
그러나 미국도 자국의 국방예산 삭감 등을 이유로 완강하게 맞서면서 협상이 타 결 목표 시한이었던 지난해를 넘겨 올해도 이어지게 됐다.
미국은 당초 협상 초기 1조원 이상의 금액을 제시했던 것으로 알렸다. 미국은 이후 진행된 수차례 협상에서 총액 규모를 많이 낮췄지만 9천500억원 이하로는 어렵 다는 입장을 강하게 견지했던 것으로 알려졌다.
이런 이유로 오는 9일 서울에서 진행될 최종 협상에서도 타결을 낙관하기 어렵다는 전망도 나온다.
다른 고위소식통은 "한미 양국 모두 이번에는 그냥 만나면 안 되고 생각을 많이 하고 협상에 임해야 타결할 수 있을 것"이라고 말했다.
이는 한미 양국 모두 동맹 차원에서 어느 정도 기존 입장을 조정할지 전략적으로 결단을 내려야 한다는 의미다.
다만 한미 양국은 방위비 제도 개선에는 일부 합의한 것으로 전해졌다.
방위비 분담금의 이월과 전용, 미(未)집행 문제와 관련, 양측은 분담금 사용의 투명성을 높이기 위해 사전에 분담금 사용방안을 협의하거나 사후에 이를 검증하는 방안 등을 논의하는 것으로 알려졌다.
그러나 미국의 부정적 입장으로 우리 정부가 처음 목표했던 현재의 총액형(협상으로 정한 총액을 매년 지급하는 방식)을 소요형(사용한 금액만큼 지급하는 방식)으 로 방위비 분담금 제도를 완전히 바꾸는 데는 실패했다.
한미 양국은 1991년부터 주한미군 주둔 비용에 대한 SMA를 체결하고 미측에 방위비를 지급해왔다. 1991년 제1차 협정을 시작으로 그동안 총 8차례의 협정을 맺어 왔으며 2009년 체결된 제8차 협정은 지난해 말로 적용시기가 끝났다.
한미 양국은 무(無) 협정 상태를 해소하기 위한 최종 협상을 9일부터 서울에서 진행할 예정이다.
<관련 영문 기사>
U.S. pushes hard for greater S. Korean share in defense cost: sources
The United States is making a hard push for a much larger South Korean share in the cost of stationing American troops here than what Seoul is willing to pay, local government sources said on Sunday, casting doubt over the two sides’ impending negotiations over the issue.
The two countries will open a new round of talks on Thursday in Seoul to renew the Special Measure Agreement, under which they will decide how to split the cost of stationing 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.
According to the sources, the U.S. is demanding South Korea contribute about 950 billion won ($900 million) under a new agreement, up 9.2 percent from 869.5 billion won that Seoul paid under the previous SMA in 2013.
South Korea believes the figure should be settled around 900 billion won, given that the annual rate of increase under the previous five-year SMA was capped at 4 percent.
Seoul is also concerned that the National Assembly will refuse to ratify the new SMA if South Korea’s share exceeded 900 billion won and point out that the size of the American troops and their service conditions haven’t changed so dramatically as to warrant a major increase in Seoul’s cost.
When the most recent SMA was reached in 2009, the South Korean share went up by 18.5 billion won from 2008.
Sources here said the U.S. had asked for around 1.1 trillion won from South Korea early in their negotiations and demanded that the figure not fall below 950 billion won, citing mounting security threats from North Korea.
“I don‘t recall the U.S. being so insistent about monetary figures (in the SMA talks),” a government source said.
The sources predicted a long road ahead in the allies’ talks. “Both South Korea and the U.S. shouldn‘t just come to the table this time,” another source said. “They must put in a lot of thoughts into this in order to reach an agreement.”
Thursday’s talks will be the 10th round. The previous SMA expired at the end of 2013.
The allies signed their first SMA in 1991, and the deal has been renewed intermittently since. The Seoul-Washington defense treaty, under which the U.S. deploys its soldiers in South Korea to guard against North Korean threats, had initially put the burden of financing U.S. defense activities solely on Washington. (Yonhap News)
U.S. pushes hard for greater S. Korean share in defense cost: sources
The United States is making a hard push for a much larger South Korean share in the cost of stationing American troops here than what Seoul is willing to pay, local government sources said on Sunday, casting doubt over the two sides’ impending negotiations over the issue.
The two countries will open a new round of talks on Thursday in Seoul to renew the Special Measure Agreement, under which they will decide how to split the cost of stationing 28,500 U.S. troops in South Korea.
According to the sources, the U.S. is demanding South Korea contribute about 950 billion won ($900 million) under a new agreement, up 9.2 percent from 869.5 billion won that Seoul paid under the previous SMA in 2013.
South Korea believes the figure should be settled around 900 billion won, given that the annual rate of increase under the previous five-year SMA was capped at 4 percent.
Seoul is also concerned that the National Assembly will refuse to ratify the new SMA if South Korea’s share exceeded 900 billion won and point out that the size of the American troops and their service conditions haven’t changed so dramatically as to warrant a major increase in Seoul’s cost.
When the most recent SMA was reached in 2009, the South Korean share went up by 18.5 billion won from 2008.
Sources here said the U.S. had asked for around 1.1 trillion won from South Korea early in their negotiations and demanded that the figure not fall below 950 billion won, citing mounting security threats from North Korea.
“I don‘t recall the U.S. being so insistent about monetary figures (in the SMA talks),” a government source said.
The sources predicted a long road ahead in the allies’ talks. “Both South Korea and the U.S. shouldn‘t just come to the table this time,” another source said. “They must put in a lot of thoughts into this in order to reach an agreement.”
Thursday’s talks will be the 10th round. The previous SMA expired at the end of 2013.
The allies signed their first SMA in 1991, and the deal has been renewed intermittently since. The Seoul-Washington defense treaty, under which the U.S. deploys its soldiers in South Korea to guard against North Korean threats, had initially put the burden of financing U.S. defense activities solely on Washington. (Yonhap News)
