North Korean externally-focused media on Tuesday said United States Forces Korea (USFK)'s presence on the Korean peninsula is not justifiable due to the inter-Korean military agreement of September 19, 2018, denouncing ongoing negotiations in defense cost-sharing between the U.S. and South Korea.

Uriminzokkiri — which primarily targets South Korean audiences — reported that the U.S. reportedly requested defense costs of around 4.7 to 5 billion dollars, which include expenses required to maintain and deploy U.S. strategic assets stationed abroad.