The purpose of this paper is to examine the changing ROK-U.S. alliance and to analyze the tasks of it. The ROK-U.S. Alliance for the last half-century is at the threshold of a revolutionary transformation. The future USFK will be playing the role of a...
The purpose of this paper is to examine the changing ROK-U.S. alliance and to analyze the tasks of it. The ROK-U.S. Alliance for the last half-century is at the threshold of a revolutionary transformation. The future USFK will be playing the role of a rapid strike force beyond the Korean Peninsula.
The realignment of U.S. troops in Korea may have a bad influence on our security environment as follow: the acceleration of arms race in the Northeast Asia, the strengthening U.S.-Japan Alliance and the restoration of Japan's Militarism, an increase in the ROK's defense expenditure and its expansion of armaments.
At the present time, the pending problems between the two alliances is as follow: the relocation of U.S. troops in Korea, the strategic flexibility of USFK, the withdrawal of the wartime operational control to the ROK military.
In this context, the existing hierarchical Korea-U.S. Alliance should develop to become the equal relationship. In order to achieve this purpose, we should try to readjust the ROK-U.S. Alliance as follow: being restricted to “pure defensive alliance”, the reformation of the Combined Forces Command system and the dismantlement of the UN Command headquarters.