South Korean workers at US military bases to go back to work after temporary funding deal reached

Around 4,000 civilian employees were put on unpaid leave in April after funds to pay their salaries ran out with talks stalled on cost-sharing

US has around 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea to defend it against the nuclear-armed North

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US and South Korean soldiers pose on a floating bridge on the Hantan river during a joint military exercise in 2015. Photo: AP

Published: 9:45pm, 3 Jun 2020Updated: 9:48pm, 3 Jun 2020

Thousands of South Koreans working at US military bases in the country, furloughed in a row over funding for the American presence on the peninsula, will go back to work this month after Seoul offered to pay their wages.

Washington has around 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea to defend it against the nuclear-armed North and protect US interests in northeast Asia.

But the security allies’ relationship has been strained by the Trump administration’s demands that the South pay billions of dollars more towards the cost of their presence after the previous funding pact expired last year.

Around 4,000 local civilian employees of US Forces Korea (USFK) were put on unpaid leave in April after funds to pay their salaries ran out with talks stalled on cost-sharing.

A full new deal has yet to be struck, but Seoul offered more than US$200 million to fund the cost of the civilian employees for the rest of the year, which the US Department of Defence accepted.

They will return to work “no later than mid-June”, officials said.

US soldiers at Osan Air Base in Osan, South Korea. Photo: EPA-EFE