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34 Armed Forces & Soc'y 5 (2007-2008)

handle is hein.journals/amdfcsad34 and id is 1 raw text is: October2007 5-28 ©_20017 Inter-U~niversity North Korea and the ROK-U.S.mian rs d 10.1 1) 1'53706292877 Security Alliance http/f.sagepub.con hosted at http://online.sagepub.com Cheon Seongwhun Korea Institute for National Unification, Seoul, South Korea The Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance has encountered the most turbulent period in the history of the bilateral relationship. The apparent decline of the relationship worsened with the developing North Korean nuclear crisis after October 2002 and the election of new leadership in South Korea. Gaping differences are appearing over key issues, which adversely influence the bilateral relations. This article argues that there are two underly- ing reasons that have brought about these differences identity crisis and deficiency in mutual understanding. Variations in state identity can affect the national security interests or polices of states, and Seoul and Washington have shown different identities, especially with respect to Pyongyang. While alliance is a moving target that needs continuous atten- tion and adaptation, the two countries failed to catch up with each other's changes. This article investigates and highlights the gaping alliance differences and proposes some remedial measures for a better future of the bilateral alliance. Keywords: North Korea; DPRK; South Korea; ROK; United States; nuclear proliferation; security alliance On March 2, 2003, four North Korean fighter jets-two MiG-29s and two MiG- 23s-approached an American reconnaissance plane-an RC-1355 Cobra Ball. The plane was carrying out a routine surveillance mission in international air space over the East Sea, 150 miles off the North Korean coast. The North Korean jets locked their attack radar onto the U.S. plane and tailed it for about twenty-two minutes, closing to within fifty feet at one point. This high-risk maneuver was the most serious military encounter between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in recent years. Two days after the encounter, Republic of Korea (ROK) President Roh Moo Hyun said in an interview with The Times that the incident was predictable because the United States had increased its aerial surveillance of North Korea's resumed nuclear activities. Of the U.S. monitoring activities, he observed that a very strong threat against a counterpart can be a very effective means of negotiation. President Roh fur- ther added that he was urging the United States not to go too far.1 Mr. Lee Jongseok, formerly a member of the Foreign, Unification & Security Affairs for the Transitional Committee for the 16th President of the ROK and Minister of Unification, made a sim- ilar comment about the high-altitude encounter: What North Korea did was nothing Author's Note: I am grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. 5

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