Curtains for the US-Korea military alliance?

The US–Korea military alliance, forged in the crucible of the Cold War, has long been regarded as one of the most resilient and indispensable pillars of East Asian security. Since the signing of the Mutual Defense Treaty in 1953, the alliance has not only deterred war on the Korean Peninsula but also anchored America’s strategic posture in Northeast Asia. Yet recent political developments in both Washington and Seoul raise the sobering question of whether the alliance is nearing a historic inflection point.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s Armed Forces Day speech, delivered with all the symbolic weight such an occasion demands, reaffirmed the “solidity” of the alliance with Washington.

But embedded within his rhetoric was a powerful subtext: a call for South Korea to build a strong, self-reliant military capable of standing on its own in a volatile region. In hindsight, Lee’s words may be remembered as the beginning of the gradual unraveling of a partnership that has defined East Asian security for more than seven decades.

Read more