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Focus Issues

ROK-US Alliance

Insight

Recently, the ROK-U.S. alliance is undergoing significant structural changes amidst the Trump administration's grand strategy shift and intensifying U.S.-China strategic competition. The United States is demanding the realignment of U.S. Forces Korea's mission and flexibility in combined exercises for anti-China deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region, which poses new frictions and challenges to the traditional North Korea-focused deterrence structure. For South Korea, it is crucial to institutionalize communication channels between the ROK and the U.S. in line with this modernization trend of the alliance, and to carry out sophisticated strategic coordination to proactively respond to the new security environment, such as multi-domain operations.

  1. General Brunson’s Emphasis on CJADO and the Acceleration of ROK-U.S. OPCON Transfer Talks: South Korea’s Policy Challenges / Chaesung Chun
  2. The Proposed Deployment of the U.S. Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) to the Korean Peninsula and the Restructuring of USFK: A Geopolitical Risk Analysis / Chaesung Chun
  3. Six Months of Silence in ROK-US Intelligence Sharing: A Rift or Mere Noise? / Inhwan Oh
  4. South Korea's Strategic Dilemma Between China and the U.S. as Seen Through King's Visit and Reduced ROK-U.S. Drills / Chaesung Chun
  5. Behind General Brunson’s Call for "Daily Training": Distributed Exercises and the ‘Kill Web’ Amid an Aircraft Carrier Deficit / Inho Choi
  6. [Global NK Commentary] Fractured Trilateral Cooperation?: South Korea, U.S., and Japan's Threat Perceptions and the North Korea Problem / Hwang Ji-hwan
  7. [EAI Issue Briefing] The United States Cannot Be Trusted and China Is Disliked: Is There an Alternative?: An Analysis of the Results of the 2026 EAI East Asia Perception Survey / Yeol Son
  8. Decision to Scale Down ROK-US Exercises and Bipartisan Congressional Backlash: Concerns Over Alliance Management Failure and Response Strategies / Sangjun Lee
  9. US Defense Strategy and Demands for Increased Alliance Burden-Sharing: Implications for South Korea / Chaesung Chun
  10. US Warning on 'Alliance Standards' Fractures South Korea–US Trust / Inho Choi
  11. [Global NK Commentary] The Current Value of the US Forces in Korea and Our Response Strategy / Jeon Jae-woo
  12. [ROK-U.S. Alliance Project] ① Alliance Modernization and South Korea’s Security Strategy: Cognitive Lag and the True Crisis / Inhyo Seol, Jeon Jae-woo, Kim Yang-gyu
  13. [EAI Issue Brief] Analysis of South Korean Public Perception of the ROK-US Alliance in 2023: Expectations and Concerns Regarding a Comprehensive Alliance / Yeol Son, Kim Yang-gyu, Park Han-soo
  14. [ROK-U.S. Alliance Project] ④ Changes in the Indo-Pacific Military Balance and the Shift in the Deterrence Paradigm / Inhyo Seol
  15. [ROK-U.S. Alliance Project] ② The Shift in U.S. Grand Strategy and Alliance Modernization / Inhyo Seol, Jeon Jae-woo