CIAO DATE: 01/2009
Volume: 8, Issue: 1
Fall/Winter 2004
U.S. Korea Security Alliance in Transition: A U.S. Perspective (PDF)
Michael McDevitt
The US-ROK security relationship is in transition. It is a transition that started some time ago, in 1989 to be precise, with the end of the Cold War. What we are experiencing today is simply the latest, and perhaps most public manifestation, of a process that has been gathering momentum since the early days of the first Bush Administration.
Today, the issue of evolution seems to be receiving more attention than ever before. But 15 years ago, when it seemed that all Communist regimes were destined to collapse soon and the US Congress was looking for a post-Cold war budgetary reduction in defense expenditures, otherwise known as the peace dividend, there was a great deal of talk about an evolution of the alliance. It was an evolution based on the assumption that the collapse of North Korea was just around the corner, and an evolution based on the assumption that the ROK was militarily and politically capable of assuming more of a leading role of its own defense.
U.S.-Korea Security Alliance in Transition: A ROK Perspective (PDF)
Jae-Kap Ryoo
Is the ROK-U.S. alliance relationship in crisis or at a turning point where it can be transformed into a more resilient alliance? Is there simply a semantic debate raising questions at the moment or is the alliance suffering a real crisis? Most observers worry about the alliance’s future, and many experts consider that the alliance relationship is in a transitional period: to be redefined and restructured to meet new requirements for the 21st century on the Korean peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region more generally. At present, the Republic of Korea and the United States need to prepare for the future. In light of various challenges to their security alliance, future prospects do not seem bright. This article is an attempt to do three things: to analyze various challenges to the ROK-U.S. alliance relationship and to consider the strategic implications for the future of the alliance in the Asia-Pacific region; to explore more effective ways to develop a new relationship for the 21st century; and to search for a more appropriate method to make the alliance “unique” in the Asia-Pacific while remaining comparable with the U.S.-Japan alliance and other treaty relationships.
Changing Inter-Korean Relations and the Impact on the U.S.-ROK Alliance (PDF)
Choong Nam Kim
With the end of the Cold War, since the 1990s Inter-Korean relations, a lasting reminder of that Cold War, have undergone drastic changes, especially during and after the Kim Dae Jung administration. Peace and stability in Northeast Asia depend on what happens on the Korean peninsula. How Seoul’s North Korea policy evolves is of great interest to its allies and will likely impact South Korea’s stature in the regional strategic order. In particular, the U.S.-ROK relationship can improve or deteriorate based on the diplomatic direction that South Korea takes with North Korea.
The Changing Role Of China On The Korean Peninsula (PDF)
Samuel S. Kim
There has been much talk lately about the changing role of China on the Korean peninsula. China’s proactive diplomacy during the second standoff over nuclear weapons between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) stands in marked contrast to the risk-averse “who me?” posture it held during the conflict of the early 1990s that culminated in the U.S.-DPRK Agreed Framework on October 21, 1994. In that earlier conflict, the Chinese opted to sit on the sidelines with the familiar refrain that this was a dispute to be resolved bilaterally between Washington and Pyongyang. In the latest (second) nuclear standoff, China has played the primary catalytic role of facilitating bi-trilateral (DPRK-U.S.-China) and multilateral six-nation dialogues among all the Northeast Asian concerned states, drawing North Korea into a sui generis regional multilateral setting that it had previously sworn off in a quest for bilateral negotiations with the United States. In this process, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) have increasingly come into virtual geopolitical alignment, in tandem with the straining and fracturing of the ROK-US alliance.
China's "Peaceful Rise:" Implications for US Interests in Korea (PDF)
Robert Sutter
Beginning in 2003, Chinese leaders began a new stage in China’s efforts to define China’s approach toward its neighboring countries and what China’s approach meant for the United States and US interests in Asia and the world. Premier Wen Jiabao addressed the topic of China’s peaceful rise in a speech in New York on December 9, 2003.1 Despite such high level pronouncements, the exact purpose and scope of the new emphasis on China’s “peaceful rise” remained less than clear to Chinese and foreign specialists.2 Consultations in May 2004 with 50 Chinese officials and non-government specialists closely involved in this issue helped to clarify the state of play in Chinese decision-making circles regarding China’s peaceful rise and what it meant for China’s approach to Korea and the rest of Asia and for US interests and policy in the region.
The Impact of North Korea's WMD Programs on Regional Security and the ROK-U.S. Alliance (PDF)
Bruce E. Bechtol Jr.
While the use of weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear programs and missiles has been part of Pyongyang's brinkmanship strategy almost since the very beginning of the Kim Chong-il era, the current string of events that have occurred since the fall of 2002 is unique. Instead of the world and the region having concerns over the nuclear facility at Yongbyon, the situation now exists where North Korea has the potential for weaponizing, using, and proliferating two nuclear programs - both plutonium based, and the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) program which came into existence during the 1990s.
Beyond Electoral Politics: US-ROK Alliance and the Six-Party Talks on North Korea (PDF)
Young Whan Kihl
The United States - ROK Mutual Defense Treaty, commemorating its half-century mark on October 1, 2003, was hailed as one of the successful, long-standing, military alliances that the U.S. had entered into with its allies in the post-World War II era. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War, there was a wide-ranging commemorative community program and activities throughout the United States, to honor Korean War veterans and their family members.1
The Impact of the 2004 National Assembly Elections on the Korean Economy (PDF)
Sunwoong Kim
10, 2004, 79.3 percent of the general public and 90.2% of experts viewed the existing economic situation in Korea as a crisis. However, the two groups’ views differed substantially when they were asked how the 17th National Assembly Elections (NAE) held on April 15, 2004, would affect the economy. While the majority of the general public (56.8%) stated that the elections would have a positive effect on the economy, 48.7% of the experts said that the elections would have a negative effect. What explains such divergent views between the general public and the experts?
Social-Cultural Changes in South Korea since 1991: An American View (PDF)
Edward J. Button
You can take the Korean out of Korea, but you cannot take Korea out of the Korean. This saying implies that experts on Korean affairs with Korean ethnicity, regardless of their citizenship, regardless of how many generations ago their families immigrated to other countries, may evaluate situations through Korean eyes and be biased towards traditional Korean points of view. Even though an increasing number of non-Koreans are becoming involved in the study of Korean affairs, which is a good sign for global awareness of the importance of Korea in world affairs, these individuals, of necessity, spend limited time in Korea and interact mostly with other professionals with similar interests and ideas. For these reasons, the author, who has lived and worked continuously in Korea since 1982, may be able to describe and discuss changes in Korean society as seen through non-Korean eyes.