Options for the US-ROK Alliance in the Context of the North Korean Threat.
The cornerstone of the asymmetric US-ROK alliance is the notion that the US military protects South Korea from North Korean aggression, while South Korea provides the US with a foothold on the Asian continent. However, since the end of the Korean War, there has been no mutual long-term strategy for confronting and solving some of the more critical issues to the alliance. The day will come when North Korea mobilizes its military for offensive purposes against its geographical or political neighbors, the US mobilizes its military directly against North Korea, or reunification occurs between the two Koreas. The lack of a tangible and coherent diplomatic strategy concerning these events will lead to undue stress on the alliance and uncontrollable outcomes.
The US has three basic options to pursue to prepare it for inevitable political and military issues on the peninsula that concern the alliance with South Korea and North Korea threat: it can distance itself from the alliance with South Korea, it can increase its" political and military involvement with South Korea, or the US can continue on the current path of diplomacy of focusing on the Middle East and allow other foreign policy issues to simmer on the backburner.
BACKGROUND.
History and Structure of the Alliance.
Though it has had its political ups and downs, South Korea has been an ally of the American government since the end of the Korean War. The first peaceful transition of presidential power in the later half of the 20th century was the result of US maintenance of a presence in South Korea. Economically, the ROK has experienced what they call the "Miracle of the Han River," an economic success similar to Japan's before it entered a depression. The primary nature of the alliance is through the 37,000 American troops in South Korea. These are assembled with South Korean troops under a US command.