Abstract

The United States-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance is under greater strain than ever before. One former U.S. ambassador to South Korea called 2004 “the lowest point in the history of the alliance,”‘ and in the United States, some influential policy analysts are openly criticizing South Korea and have begun calling for an end to the alliance. Scott Snyder of the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted that “the alliance appears demonstrably less important to both Americans and South Koreans than it was during the Cold War.”2 Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute called South Korea “a runaway ally,” arguing that the United States ought to “work around” the Roh administration.’ The Cato Institute called for an “amicable divorce,” and researchers Ted Galen Carpenter and Doug Bandow suggested that the alliance should be dissolved.

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