The United States has been pressing the South Korean government in connection to the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan and the Special Measures Agreement between South Korea and the U.S. David Stilwell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs held a press conference in Tokyo on October 26 and said that the GSOMIA was "beneficial" to the U.S., South Korea and Japan and expressed his plans to ask the South Korean government to reconsider its decision to terminate the military information agreement. Stilwell also said that the U.S. was not in a position to mediate the conflicts between South Korea and Japan and argued that the two countries should not let an economic problem expand into a security issue. The previous day, Randall Schriver, the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs also mentioned wishes for South Korea to reconsider its decision not to extend the GSOMIA. The military information-sharing pact in question will cease to be effective on November 23, and the U.S. State Department and Pentagon are explicitly demanding that it be extended.

Stilwell's remarks indicate that the U.S. is quite determined to maintain the GSOMIA. He squarely refuted the South Korean government's argument that South Korea and Japan can continue to share military information through the Trilateral Information Sharing Agreement (TISA) signed by the two countries and the U.S. even if the GSOMIA is terminated. He argued that the information would not be shared quickly. But the GSOMIA was a response that South Korea inevitably took, because Japan tightened export regulations. It is inappropriate for the U.S. to ask South Korea to withdraw its decision to terminate the GSOMIA, while remaining silent with Japan. The U.S. argued that an economic problem should not spread to a security issue, but it was Japan that engaged in economic retaliation raising an issue with South Korea's security regulations. The U.S. attitude is disappointing, for it simply defends the position of the U.S. and Japan while ignoring the situation in South Korea. It is the same when it comes to U.S. demands to increase defense contributions. The U.S. government explicitly demanded South Korea to increase its defense contribution claiming that President Trump made it clear that South Korea should contribute a fairer share. But demanding South Korea to shoulder the costs of deploying U.S. strategic weapons is a violation of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the two countries.

It is difficult for the South Korean government to maintain the military information agreement unless Japan withdraws its export control. No matter how much the U.S. wants to maintain the GSOMIA, as a sovereign state this is a matter of pride. South Koreans fear that the termination of the military agreement and the demand for higher defense contributions will have an adverse affect on its alliance with the U.S. The U.S. should clearly realize that ignoring this and continuing to pressure the South Korean government would indeed weaken the ROK-US alliance.