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South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations (CRS Report for Congress)

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Release Date Revised Oct. 25, 2024
Report Number IF10165
Report Type In Focus
Authors Mark E. Manyin; Emma Chanlett-Avery; Mary Beth D. Nikitin; Ian E. Rinehart; Brock R. Williams
Source Agency Congressional Research Service
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Summary:

Since late 2008, relations between the United States and South Korea (known officially as the Republic of Korea, or ROK) arguably have been the most robust since the formation of the U.S.-ROK alliance in 1953. Cooperation on North Korea policy has been particularly close, and the two countries have adjusted the alliance in the face of a changing threat from Pyongyang. South Korea also has taken the first steps toward a possible entry into the U.S.-led 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement (FTA), which would build on the 2011 United States-Korea FTA (KORUS FTA). Notwithstanding the positive state of the relationship, in the coming months U.S.-South Korea ties could be tested by developments in areas where the two countries occasionally disagree, such as how best to handle tense South Korea-Japan relations. President Park has promoted initiatives with North Korea that may go against the grain of U.S. policies increasing pressure on Pyongyang. South Korea also hesitates to take steps it perceives China could view as antagonistic, occasionally leading to differences with the United States. In mid-October 2015, President Park visited Washington, DC, to hold a summit with President Obama. It was her first visit to the United States since May 2013, when she addressed a joint meeting of Congress. The two leaders’ 2015 meetings focused on North Korea, upgrades to the U.S.-ROK alliance, diplomacy in Northeast Asia, and trade issues. They also touched on cooperation on global issues such as cyber security and health assistance. Following President Park’s high-profile appearance at a Chinese military parade in Beijing in September 2015, the summit provided an opportunity for South Korea to show its commitment to the alliance relationship with the United States. During the trip, President Park publicly stated her willingness to hold her first bilateral summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. For more, see CRS reports on U.S.-South Korea relations (R41481), the KORUS FTA (RL34330), and U.S.-North Korea relations (R41259).