![handle is hein.crs/govedlm0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Infori B t ia n d 1914
South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations
Overview
South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea, or ROK) is
one of the United States' most important strategic and
economic partners in Asia. The U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense
Treaty, signed in 1953 at the end of the Korean War,
commits the United States to help South Korea defend
itself, particularly from North Korea (officially the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK). The
alliance also helps the United States promote its interests in
East Asia and around the globe, including by deploying
ROK troops to U.S.-led military conflicts in the Middle
East. Approximately 28,500 U.S. troops are based in the
ROK. The economic relationship is bolstered by the U.S.-
South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). In
2020, South Korea was the United States' seventh-largest
trading partner, and the United States was South Korea's
second-largest trading partner, behind China.
In May 2021, President Joseph Biden and ROK President
Moon Jae-in met in Washington, DC. During their summit,
Biden and Moon discussed North Korea policy, stated their
shared values on many issues pertaining to China, and
terminated an agreement that had restricted ROK ballistic
missile development. They also announced a Coronavirus
Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine partnership; a U.S.
pledge to vaccinate 550,000 South Korean troops who work
closely with U.S. military forces; investments in the United
States by ROK technology companies in key sectors; and
expanded cooperation on critical technologies, climate
change, energy, cyber-security, global health, and space.
Moon also met with several Members of Congress.
North Korea Policy Coordination
North Korea is the dominant strategic concern in the U.S.-
South Korea relationship. Moon has championed U.S.-
North Korea talks, which he views as critical to preventing
military conflict and to realizing his goal of establishing a
durable peace on the Korean Peninsula. Since early 2019,
Pyongyang largely has ignored U.S. and South Korean
outreach and has severed all overt inter-Korean
communication channels.
In April 2021, the Biden Administration announced it had
completed a review of DPRK policy, and that it will pursue
a calibrated, practical approach that is open to and will
explore diplomacy with North Korea to achieve eventually
the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
even as U.S. and international sanctions remain in place.
The approach appears to envision an incremental process of
offering partial sanctions relief in exchange for partial steps
toward denuclearization. Moon has welcomed the policy
review's results. Administration officials say they have
reached out to North Korea, and that the ball is in
[Pyongyang's] court. The Administration has not
Updated May 26, 2021
explained how its approach might persuade the DPRK to
come to the negotiating table or make concessions.
At their 2021 summit, Biden and Moon stated their belief
that 2018 U.S.-North Korea and South Korea-North Korea
agreements negotiated by Moon and former President
Donald Trump could form the basis for denuclearization
and achieving permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Biden expressed support for inter-Korean dialogue and
appointed a part-time Special Representative for North
Korea policy. Both presidents reiterated support for full
implementation of U.N. sanctions.
NORTH
KOREA
iz gyrr *Pyongyang
N dlar
Cpatonpl *Seoul
Infant Mortaity: 29 deStOhUlTH live birth
Fertility Rate:r children brn/oman ( =1
GDP Per Capita (2019 est): $2941 (U.S. $6530)
Sources: GrphkcreatedbyCRS. Map, Esri Da and Maps
2019. Fact information, CIAWorld Factbook.
In the near term, some analysts worry DPRK leader Kim
Jong-un will abandon his three-and-a-half-year-old
unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range
ballistic missile tests. North Korea has continued to test
short- and medium-range missiles and to conduct
cyberattacks around the globe. U.N. and U.S. sanctions
remain in place, officially barring nearly all of North
Korea's typical exports and many of its imports. The
sanctions severely limit cooperation activities that the
Moon government favors.
U.S.-South Korea Security Issues
The U.S.-ROK alliance showed signs of strain in the past
several years, as President Trump was openly skeptical of
the value of the alliance and requested steep increases in
funds from South Korea to offset the cost of hosting U.S.
troops on the Peninsula. In its first two months in office, the
Biden Administration concluded a cost-sharing negotiation
with South Korea that boosted South Korea's contribution
by 13.9%. South Korea traditionally has paid for about 50%
(over $800 million annually) of the total non-personnel
costs of the U.S. military presence, according to
congressional testimony by U.S. military officials.
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