Abstract:

U.S. forces in South Korea is one of the most important issues for the U.S.-ROK alliance from the cold war period to the post-cold war era. The disarmament or withdrawal of U.S. forces in South Korea is most controversial. During over three decades after World War Ⅱ, this triggered many controversies or even crises of confidence. It reflects the difference of strategic perception between the U.S. and South Korea:the U.S. often decided or proposed to reduce or withdraw the troops from South Korea based on multilateral considerations for global, Asian, and Korean Peninsula affairs; on the contrary, South Korea frequently viewed this as the signs of the decline of U.S.' security commitment for South Korea or U.S.' anti-communist determination in Asia and even worldwide. South Korea had no power of veto for the reduction or withdrawal of U.S. forces in South Korea in most cases. The primary reason for the failure of U.S. forces reduction or withdrawal is the disputes among different departments in Washington. Until now, the difference of strategic perception and the asymmetry of discourse right is still one of the basic features of the U.S.-ROK alliance.

Key words: the cold war, U.S.-ROK alliance, U.S. forces in South Korea, strategic perception, discourse right