U.S. and South Korean officials say has Seoul agreed to a 13.9% increase in payments to cover this year's cost of basing U.S. troops on the Korean peninsula. American and South Korean officials, in separate briefings for reporters in Washington and Seoul, said the 13.9% increase will apply to the South Korean government's payments this year. That is a 13.9% increase, which a State Department official said is the largest since 2004. Overall, South Korea will be paying about 44% of the overall cost of having American troops based on the peninsula, not counting U.S. military and civilian salaries. The U.S. has about 28,500 troops in South Korea.