Category: US-ROK Alliance

According to USFK Commander General LaPorte there is no cracks in the US-ROK Alliance.

The alliance between South Korea and the United States remains solid, Gen. Leon J. LaPorte, commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK), said Friday.

During a meeting with some 20 domestic political experts and leaders of civic groups at Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, the USFK chief stressed the half-century alliance between the two countries is strong, said Kim Young-gyu, spokesman for the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC).

“Some are worried that the Seoul-Washington military alliance is weakening, but it’s not true,’’ LaPorte was quoted as saying by Kim. “There is no crack in the alliance as long as both countries share the same goal of maintaining security and stability on the Korean Peninsula.’’

I would say he is correct if commenting on a military stand point because the relationship between the US military and the ROK Army is solid. Politically is where the problems are.

USFK and Korean officials are meeting today to define the future USFK role in Korea.

South Korean and U.S. officials will hold the first Security Policy Initiative meeting today at the Defense Ministry aimed at refining the alliance and the future role of U.S. military forces. South Korea is also forming a task force to study a possible regional role of the U.S. military’s forces stationed here, according to officials. South Korea is reportedly concerned that it could be unwillingly sucked into a conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan.

This is a very sensitive issue since it deals with whether we allow the Korean Peninsula to become a strategic global military base for U.S. forces,” said a government official. “It is closely linked to the future strategic situation of the Korean Peninsula and the alliance with the United States.”

The official added the government was considering allowing a regional role for U.S. forces here except in a conflict between China and Taiwan. Now, however, the government is studying all possible conflicts and what role it would play if the United States wanted to dispatch troops based here.  Another government official warned the United States could drastically reduce its forces if South Korea doesn’t approve a regional role for them.