Opinion

The 66-year alliance between the U.S. and South Korea is in deep trouble

Richard Armitage, a former deputy secretary of state, 2001-2005, is the president of the business consultancy Armitage International. Victor Cha, a former member of the National Security Council, 2004-2007, is a professor at Georgetown University and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The 66-year alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is in deep trouble. The U.S.-China trade war, the South Korean government’s quiet leaning toward Beijing and President Trump’s transactional view of alliances have created a unique constellation of forces. The result could be a premature withdrawal of U.S. troops from the peninsula at a time when North Korea’s nuclear threat and China’s regional dominance grow unabated.