South Korea is seeking to iron out remaining differences and sign a deal with Washington on sharing costs for stationing 28,500 American troops in the country, its chief envoy has said.

Jeong Eun-bo made the comment as he arrived in Washington on Thursday for the first face-to-face talks on Friday with U.S. envoy Donna Welton since President Joe Biden's administration took office in January. They held their first video conference last month.

The negotiations had been gridlocked after former U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Seoul's offer to pay 13% more, for a total of about $1 billion a year, and demanded as much as $5 billion.