Seoul: U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell on Monday described a newly finalized defense cost-sharing agreement with South Korea as "extraordinarily generous and gracious," expressing hope that the incoming Trump administration will recognize its "wisdom." According to Yonhap News Agency, Campbell made these comments during a forum, amidst concerns that President-elect Donald Trump, upon taking office in January, might push for a renegotiation of the Special Measures Agreement (SMA). This agreement outlines Seoul's contribution to the expenses associated with the 28,500 U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel stationed in the country. During the forum, co-hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Korea Foundation, Campbell stated, "We've recently concluded extraordinarily generous and gracious host-nation support arrangements with both Japan and South Korea, signaling the determination to keep the United States forward-engaged and forward-deployed." He further expressed, "My h ope would be that the wisdom of that would be fully appreciated in a new administration."