South Korea to spend $33B to support US forces deterring North Korea



News South Korea to spend $33B to support US forces deterring North Korea Allies say ROK will also purchase $25B worth of American weapons, but offer no details on where nuke sub will be built Jeongmin Kim \| Joon Ha Park November 14, 2025 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON South Korean President Lee Jae-myung gazes at a model of B-2A bomber in the Oval Office during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 25, 2025. \| Image: Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins South Korea has agreed to spend nearly $60 billion to purchase U.S. military equipment and support American forces on the peninsula tasked with countering North Korea, the allies announced on Friday. According to a joint fact sheet released by the White House, Seoul will spend $25 billion on “military equipment purchases” by 2030, as well as provide “comprehensive support for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)” worth $33 billion by an unspecified date. The readout confirms agreements that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump reached during their meetings in South Korea in late Octoberand at the White © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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South Korea to spend $33B to support US forces deterring North Korea

Allies say ROK will also purchase $25B worth of American weapons, but offer no details on where nuke sub will be built

Jeongmin Kim | Joon Ha Park November 14, 2025

South Korea to spend $33B to support US forces deterring North Korea

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung gazes at a model of B-2A bomber in the Oval Office during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 25, 2025. | Image: Official White House Photo by Emily J. Higgins

South Korea has agreed to spend nearly $60 billion to purchase U.S. military equipment and support American forces on the peninsula tasked with countering North Korea, the allies announced on Friday.

According to a joint fact sheet released by the White House, Seoul will spend $25 billion on “military equipment purchases” by 2030, as well as provide “comprehensive support for U.S. Forces Korea (USFK)” worth $33 billion by an unspecified date.

The readout confirms agreements that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and U.S. President Donald Trump reached during their meetings in South Korea in late Octoberand at the White

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Jeongmin Kim

Jeongmin Kim is Executive Director at Korea Risk Group, based in Seoul. She covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.

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Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park is a correspondent at Korea Risk Group. He has previously written on issues related to the two Koreas at The Peninsula Report, and appeared on ABC News Australia, Deutsche Welle and Monocle Radio. He specializes in offering in-depth analyses of South Korea’s defense policy, security relations and domestic politics for Korea Pro.

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