Imposed Challenges on the ROK-U.S. Alliance: Alliance Transformation under the Trump 2.0 Administration for Balancing China
Won Gon Park, Chair of EAI's North Korea Studies Center and Professor at Ewha Womans University, outlines how the Trump administration is creating a strategic linkage between economics and security—through tariffs, defense cost-sharing, and alliance restructuring—to contain China. In particular, Professor Park analyzes potential shifts in the ROK-U.S. alliance, including Koreanization of defense, early OPCON transfer, and expanded roles of U.S. Forces Korea. The author underscores the strategic choices Seoul must confront in navigating a more transactional alliance framework as the U.S. in...
Commentary
- Won Gon PARK
- July 18, 2025