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Levin Prepared for the United States Air Force Approved for public release, distribution unlimited The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2004 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2004 by the RAND Corporation 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 201 North Craig Street, Suite 202, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-1516 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: order@rand.org Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Levin, Norman D. Do the ties still bind? : the U.S ROK security relationship after 9/11 / Norman D. Levin. p. cm. “MG-115.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3512-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States—Military relations—Korea (South) 2. Korea (South)—Military relations—United States. 3. United States—Military policy. 4. Korea (South)—Military policy. I.Title. UA23.L48696 2004 355'.031'0973095195—dc22 2003025864 Cover design by Maritta Tapanainen The research reported here was sponsored by the United States Air Force under Contract F49642-01-C-0003. Further information may be obtained from the Strategic Planning Division, Directorate of Plans, Hq USAF. Cover photos, left to right: Photo by Bri Rodriguez/FEMA News Photo, 9/27/01, “World Trade Center After 9/11”; Photo by Chung Sung-Jun, News and Sport, Getty Images, 12/7/02. iii Preface This report was undertaken as part of a larger RAND assessment of U.S. military-to-military relationships in Asia. The assessment was designed to evaluate the structure and value of these relationships in a post-9/11 context and to identify potential initiatives for strengthen- ing and improving security cooperation. “Military-to-military” was intentionally defined broadly to include not only technical or opera- tional matters but also the full panoply of political and diplomatic is- sues that affect security cooperation between the U.S. and the respec- tive countries. The assessment benefited from extensive interviews with knowledgeable government officials, military officers, and out- side observers in both the United States and respective partner coun- tries. Research for this report was sponsored by the Deputy Chief of Staff for Air and Space Operations, U.S. Air Force (AF/XO), and the Commander, Pacific Air Forces (PACAF/CC) and conducted within the Strategy and Doctrine Program of RAND Project AIR FORCE. The Korea Foundation provided supplementary funding for the preparation of the report. An early draft was distributed for both client approval and professional review in February 2003. This final report, submitted for publication in September 2003, addresses the helpful comments offered in these reviews. Although the report makes no attempt to provide a detailed accounting of all the events since the draft was disseminated, it does update those major developments that affect the report’s principal themes and recom- mendations. Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S ROK Security Relationship After 9/11i v The report should be of value to the U.S. national security community and interested members of the general public, especially those with an interest in U.S. relations with countries in the Asia- Pacific region. In addition to this primary intended audience, Kore- ans interested in security trends and issues related to U.S ROK (Re- public of Korea) relations should also find the report of value. Com- ments are welcome and should be sent to the author, Norman D. Levin, or RAND Project AIR FORCE acting director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program, Alan Vick: Norman D. Levin Alan Vick 1700 Main Street 1200 South Hayes Street Santa Monica, CA 90407 Arlington, VA, 22202 (310) 393-0411 x7501 (703) 413-1100 x5253 ndl@rand.org avick@rand.org RAND PROJECT AIR FORCE RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF), a division of the RAND Corpo- ration, is the U.S. Air Force’s federally funded research and develop- ment center for studies and analyses. PAF provides the Air Force with independent analyses of policy alternatives affecting the development, employment, combat readiness, and support of current and future aerospace forces. Research is conducted in four programs: Aerospace Force Development; Manpower, Personnel, and Training; Resource Management; and Strategy and Doctrine. Additional information about PAF is available on our web site at http://www.rand.org/paf. v The RAND Corporation Quality Assurance Process Peer review is an integral part of all RAND research projects. Prior to publication, this document, as with all documents in the RAND monograph series, was subject to a quality assurance process to ensure that the research meets several standards, including the following: The problem is well formulated; the research approach is well designed and well executed; the data and assumptions are sound; the findings are useful and advance knowledge; the implications and recommendations follow logically from the findings and are explained thoroughly; the documentation is accurate, understandable, cogent, and temperate in tone; the research demonstrates understanding of related previous studies; and the research is relevant, objective, independent, and bal- anced. Peer review is conducted by research professionals who were not members of the project team. RAND routinely reviews and refines its quality assurance process and also conducts periodic external and internal reviews of the quality of this body of work. For additional details regarding the RAND quality assurance process, visit http://www.rand.org/standards/. vii Contents Preface iii The RAND Corporation Quality Assurance Process v Summary ix Acknowledgments xv Acronyms xvii CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 CHAPTER TWO The Historical Basis for Security Cooperation 5 CHAPTER THREE The Korean Perspective 11 What Korea Gains from the Relationship 11 The Internal Situation 20 What Korea Wants from the Relationship 31 CHAPTER FOUR The U.S. Perspective 39 U.S. Policy Goals 39 What the U.S. Gains from the Relationship 41 What Role Korea Plays in Furthering U.S. Interests 52 Centrifugal Pressures 55 Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S ROK Security Relationship After 9/11viii CHAPTER FIVE Conclusions and Potential Initiatives 63 Bibliography 73 [...]... invest in the alliance It will expect South Korea to fulfill its commitment to complement this investment with significantly improved capabilities of its own On the U.S side, in addition to the “future of the alliance” issues described above, there are a number of issues relating to management of the alliance today These might be reduced to five short phrases xii Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S.-ROK... which the partnership is targeted Although the alliance can survive without a common definition of threat, it cannot survive without a common perception of what constitutes threats and a common commitment to prevent them from arising ix x Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S.-ROK Security Relationship After 9/11 Adapting the security relationship to the new conditions will require movement on a number of other... addresses these conflicting aspects of the current security relationship In doing so, it explicitly adopts an “inside-out” orientation That is, instead of looking “outside” at the broad regional trends and assessing their implications for the U.S.-ROK security relationship, the report looks “inside” at the nature of the relationship itself and assesses its strengths and potential vulnerabilities The report... Se-Jin Kim, ed., Documents on Korean-American Relations 1943–1976, Research Center for Peace and Unification, 1976, pp 185–186 An online treaty text is available at http://www.korea.army.mil/ sofa/mutdef.htm 8 Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S.-ROK Security Relationship After 9/11 many of the hundreds of other military agreements between the U.S and ROK are predicated on this central document The U.S.-ROK... Harshberger, then director of the Strategy and Doctrine Program in RAND Project AIR FORCE, similarly offered active support at all phases of the project, which I also greatly appreciate Ralph Cossa and Bruce Bennett provided exceptionally xv xvi Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S.-ROK Security Relationship After 9/11 thoughtful, helpful reviews of the draft report My effort to address their insightful comments... number of other issues as well At the top of the list is Yongsan, the sprawling U.S military base in the heart of Seoul The recent U.S.-ROK agreement to move the U.S garrison out of Seoul in the next couple years is an important decision Ensuring its timely implementation is critical to the relationship’s long-term stability Another issue has to do with Korea’s role within the alliance Although both sides... along the 38th parallel as a means for processing the surrender and repatriation of Japanese troops 5 The second was to govern the southern half of the country for three years (1945–1948) through direct U.S military rule The third was the 1948 decision to terminate the U.S military occupation because of pressing needs elsewhere and support the establishment of a separate, independent state in the south... also strengthened the basis for security cooperation by giving the U.S.-ROK relationship a “forged in blood” quality In the course of its three-year effort to defend South Korea, the U.S suffered nearly 137,000 casualties This included some 30,000 dead and another 8,000 missing in action The ending of the Korean War with an armistice agreement rather than a formal peace treaty reinforced the need for... South Korea and the United States, given continued North Korean truculence and inter-Korean confrontation The U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty, signed in 1953, codified this close relationship and remains today the central document underpinning the U.S.-ROK alliance.7 The treaty commits both countries to consult together and take suitable measures “whenever, in the opinion of either of them,” the security... Koreans take the elaborate consultation mechanisms developed over the years seriously They want these mechanisms to be actively used as the U.S considers its future posture on the peninsula and pursues its broader strategic interests South Koreans do not have a scale by which they measure the importance of their multiple messages But for most, “avoid sudden, unilateral changes” comes close to the bottom . disseminated, it does update those major developments that affect the report’s principal themes and recom- mendations. Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S ROK Security. com- mitment to prevent them from arising. Do the Ties Still Bind? The U.S ROK Security Relationship After 9/11x Adapting the security relationship to the new conditions