To admit the basics, the longstanding partnership between the United States and South Korea has significant implications for maintaining regional stability and security in East Asia.
Within these years, various factors such as ongoing tensions with North Korea and the emergence of new economic powers along with shifts within geopolitics of the region seem to shape their current relationship.
Although these persistent topical regional issues exist, the partnership between the United States and South Korea has remained firm, as both countries have reiterated their commitment to working together to ensure peace and stability in the region.
Some of the recent meetings held between these two countries were indicative of this fact as they took place amid continuing tension with North Korea and an ever-changing geopolitical landscape.
Cooperation between the two countries will be well understood in the light of their intentional security briefs, which have metamorphosed into an enduring military alliance that started during the Korean War and continues to this day. Over the last few years, several steps have been taken to reinforce this partnership, including joint military drills and having United States soldiers stationed in South Korea.
The two countries worked together in March 2021 on joint military exercises with a focus on preventing North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as a recent example of their cooperation involves approximately ten thousand South Korean and three thousand US troops.
North Korea, a persistent threat to a stable South Korea saw these military exercises as a clear indication that both the United States and South Korea remain committed to neutralizing any potential aggression and maintaining regional security and stability through close coordination between the two nations.
Besides military cooperation, the United States and South Korea have expanded their economic partnership in recent years.
Additionally, bilateral trade between South Korea and the United States was $146.7 billion last year, which shows that they are among each other’s closest economic partners in Asia.
The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS), which became effective in 2012 after being signed in 2007, is a major driver of this economic relationship, and with the help of KORUS promoting greater trade and investment between them resulted in the United States being South Korea’s second-largest trading partner after China.
In 2021, a high-level meeting was held between the United States and South Korea.
The former president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in met with US President Joe Biden in Washington, DC. Among other things discussed, the two leaders talked about economic cooperation and regional security.
However, one of the key areas of focus during the meeting was North Korea, with both leaders reaffirming their commitment to working together to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. This has been a longstanding goal of both the United States and South Korea, and one that has proven elusive despite years of diplomatic efforts.
The Moon-Biden summit indicated a major change in United States foreign policy toward North Korea when American officials signaled that they were willing to enter into diplomatic talks with Pyongyang, a clear departure from the previous administration’s foreign policy strategy anchored on confrontation through means such as sanctions and military deterrence.
The US-South Korea relationship has seen some positive developments of late but is not without its own set of significant challenges, and North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs continue to present a major ongoing challenge.
Despite the imposition of international sanctions on them and several diplomatic efforts from other countries, North Korea has managed to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities.
To ensure a safe East Asia and the world, the “Washington Declaration” and “Nuclear Consultative Group,” two major initiatives were put in place.
The two initiatives have been seriously criticized by Kim Yo-Long, who is not only a powerful figure but also a key representative for inter-Korean relations in Pyongyang.
“The ‘Washington Declaration’ fabricated by the U.S. and South Korean authorities is a typical product of their extreme anti-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea hostile policy, reflecting the most hostile and aggressive will of action’, Yo Long said.
While speaking to a state-owned radio station, the Korean Central News Agency, in late April, Yo Long stated that these declarations are akin to “exposing the peace and security of Northeast Asia and the world to more serious danger.”
‘The Washington Declaration’ was made by both South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Pres. Biden after a collaborative summit meeting to mark 70 years of US-South Korea partnership.
After the summit, the commitment of the United States to defending South Korea was reinforced as it set out to adopt further measures towards extending deterrence against security threats from North Korea, including an increase in how often the United States’ nuclear capabilities and military assets are deployed to South Korea.
Although Pres. Suk-yeol explicitly disclaimed that South Korea would seek nuclear weapons by expressing his complete faith in U.S. extended deterrence and reiterating South Korea’s dedication to upholding the Nonproliferation Treaty,
Both leaders expressed their willingness to engage North Korea if it genuinely wants peace in the region. They added that the discussions would come with no preconditions.
In the light of the escalating arms race on the Korean Peninsula, it is unclear how they intend to restart diplomatic relations and dialogue with North Korea.
Under the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty, the US-South Korea relationship was born as it became the hallmark of an East Asian power balance. The treaty approves of the U.S. military’s presence on the Korean peninsula.
