The Policy Changes of the USFK and Korea's Diplomatic Responses - Focusing on Reduction Negotiations in the Nixon Administration -

Abstract

This article is a review of Korea's first diplomatic efforts to secure a stable presence of U.S. troops in Korea (USFK), a key element of the Korea-U.S. alliance. At that time when security dependence on the U.S. military was absolute, South Korea made utmost efforts to avoid the security crisis caused by the reduction of USFK. However, as seen in the last withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam and Afghanistan, the U.S. military policy decision is in its own interests, and consideration of beneficiary countries is secondary. The Park Chung-hee administration, which initially desperately opposed the reduction of U.S. troops in Korea, turned to a strategy to receive maximum compensation during the negotiation process. It was an inevitable choice because the U.S. reduction policy was solid, but for South Korea, under the leadership of President Park Chung-hee, it obtained as much military aid and support as possible and laid the foundation for institutional improvement to efficiently change the ROK-U.S. joint defense posture. In alliance relations, the relatively weak countries experience a change of alliance structure in according to the choice of the powerful countries rather than their own choice. Most of these changes are going against the weak countries, and in the process of changing the Korea-U.S. alliance in the future, Korea is likely to be at a disadvantage to the U.S. demand. Therefore, it is important to examine past experiences on how to respond to future changes in the Korea-U.S. alliance and how to prepare in advance.