South Korea and the U.S. have begun another round of negotiations on sharing the cost of stationing American troops on the Korean Peninsula.
The first of two days of closed door meetings was held in Seoul between South Korea's top negotiator Jeong Eun-bo... and his U.S. counterpart James DeHart.
Washington is reportedly calling on Seoul to pay five billion U.S. dollars more than five times the amount South Korea agreed to pay under the current deal that expires at the end of this year.
Seoul has said repeatedly that the figure has to be fair and acceptable to both sides.
The reponse to the massive increase proposed by Washington has been meet with growing opposition among South Koreans.
Activists held protests outside the meeting venue claiming the U.S. is trying to extort South Korea's sovereignty.