South Korea cannot provide the US with $350 billion in cash as suggested by Washington under a deal to lower tariffs, a senior official said.
“Our position is not a negotiating tactic,” National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a Channel A News television interview on Saturday evening. “It is objectively and realistically not a level we are able to handle,” he added. “We are not able to pay $350 billion in cash.”
Seoul and Washington agreed in July to a $350 billion investment pledge as part of a broader trade deal to lower US tariffs to 15% from 25%, but the two sides remain divided over how it should be structured.
Read More: US, South Korea in Deadlock Over $350 Billion Investment Fund
South Korean officials are seeking loans and a bilateral currency swap arrangement with the US to soften the economic impact, noting that the sum represents more than 80% of its foreign reserves.
