US South Korean relations: Issues and options

The United States and South Korea maintain a strong, multifaceted alliance relationship that supports their mutual security, economic and political interests. Trends in the United States and South Korea nonetheless have prompted questioning and reassessment of important aspects of the alliance relationship, especially by South Koreans. In the post-Cold War environment, US officials are looking for ways to adjust the costs and benefits of US foreign policy. Specifically, they expect South Korea to bear more of the cost of the American forces in Korea, and to open its market more to US enterprises. South Koreans often press for adjustments in what they see as the continuing asymmetrical US-ROK relationship. In addition to seeking more US recognition of South Korean accomplishments and sensitivity to South Korean concerns, leaders in Seoul focus on several issues, including Concerns that the United States may reach agreements or take initiatives toward Pyongyang that would jeopardize South Korean interests; Perceived inequities in the Status of Forces Agreement governing US forces in Korea, and over the large American military base structure in several South Korean localities; Complaints that US trade officials are unrelenting in their pressure against restrictions in the South Korean market and fail to give due recognition to what South Korea has accomplished and to South Korean constraints. Some policymakers in Congress and elsewhere support an approach that emphasizes the need for South Koreans to bear more of the costs of their defense and remove obstacles and restrictions to free trade and market access. Others are more cautious in applying US pressure on such issues, judging that South Korean sensitivities and economic, political, and security challenges warrant a more discreet policy approach, with pressure fur more burdensharing and market opening applied, if at all possible, in private. There are also policy approaches that highlight what the United States can do to help remedy strains in US-ROK relations without applying direct pressure on South Korean leaders.