Abstract
The United States shares with many Pacific powers both relief that the world returned to peace, after the greatest conflagration in world history, and pride in its role in the subsequent transformation of world affairs. Human rights and human dignity strike a deep chord with Americans. Distinct from Asian nations on whose soil the war was largely fought, however, the United States is more detached, in general, from wartime bitterness, and places priority on forward-looking, multi-tiered institution-building across Northeast Asia. Stable relations of mutual respect among the United States and its two major regional allies, the Republic of Korea and Japan, are a special priority, with broader regional confidence-building also considered important.