70주년을 맞는 한미동맹의 현안과 미래지향적 발전방향

Abstract

The year of 2023, marks the 70th anniversary of the signing of the ROK-US alliance. It is concluded between South Korea and the US based on the ROK-US Mutual Defense Treaty to respond to North Korea's aggression and military threats. South Korea established a government in 1948 under the US Military Government system and suffered the Korean War less than two years later. South Korea, which had established military relations with the US through the participation of the United Nations forces, signed a mutual defense treaty on October 1, 1953 to prevent a recurrence of war as a condition of an unsafe armistice agreement. The ROK-US alliance in the Cold War era was focused on military alliance and economic support, but it has reached the present by expanding into various fields and undergoing changes in the alliance system as it faces the end of the Cold War. This study first diagnosed the change of the ROK-US alliance and where it is headed in the 70th year through spatial history. In parallel, opinion polls by specialized organizations and qualitative evaluations of alliance parties, third parties, and opponents on the perception of the ROK-US alliance were analyzed. Three prospects for the future of the ROK-US alliance were built to defy the current challenges including shifts in the world order, intensifying great power competition, and increasing nuclear threats. First, the role of the ‘Washington Declaration’ and future alliances in response to the North Korean nuclear threat. The second is the transfer of WT-OPCON based on conditions, and the third is the revitalization of the UNC, and these two tasks are intricately linked, which requires an extensive transformation of the alliance. And the future-oriented development plan of the ROK-US alliance was discussed. The ROK-US alliance, which celebrated its 70th anniversary, aims to be a global comprehensive strategic alliance, and new preparations are needed to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and overcome the division of the Korean Peninsula in the future. The alliance should go beyond the Korean Peninsula and contribute to the establishment of peace in the region and prosperity in the global village in connection with the Indo-Pacific Strategy. To this end, wisdom and efforts are required to aim for the 100th anniversary of the new ROK-US alliance by overcoming asymmetry and developing into a mutually beneficial and healthy alliance.