S outh Korea welcomes increased U.S. interest and commitment in East Asia. South Korea, like many other countries in Asia, has a vital interest in keeping close economic and security relations with the United States. The United States has been the largest market for the export-oriented South Korean economy and has provided South Korea with security, a critical contribution to its stable economic development. South Korea recognizes the importance of U.S. power and leadership in world politics and regards friendly relations with the United States as the backbone of its foreign and defense policies. The U.S. military presence is well accepted by South Korea for its own security interests. Both governments favor an American military presence on the Korean peninsula as a critical deterrent against communist North Korea. Under the armistice agreement ending the Korean War, the two Koreas remain technically at war, without a peace treaty, despite recent rapprochement efforts between the two archenemies. Whether through internal collapse or a desperate act of aggression, a failing North Korean regime armed with weapons of mass destruction poses a potent threat to the peninsula a decade after the end of the Cold War. About 37,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed in South Korea, the second largest U.S. Asian deployment. South Korea has worked closely with U.S. military forces in maintaining a strong alliance with the United States. Under the Combined Forces Command in Yongsan, South Korea's military forces are effectively integrated into the U.S. war strategy, which maintains readiness to meet any threat from North Korea. The extensive military cooperation with the United States includes combined defense planning, joint training exercises, intelligence integration and sharing, a sophisticated logistical interface, educational exchanges, and defense industry cooperation.