The U.S.-South Korea Alliance and Congress’s Role 1

Military Forces in South Korea 5

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) 5

United Nations Command (UNC) 6

Combined Forces Command (CFC) 7

South Korea’s Defense Industry and Purchases of U.S. Weapon Systems 8

Key Issues for Congress 9

U.S. Troops Levels in South Korea 9

“Strategic Flexibility”: Alliance Coordination Off the Korean Peninsula 13

Role of U.S. Forces in a Potential Conflict over Taiwan 14

Role of ROK Forces in a Potential Conflict over Taiwan 15

Congress, “Strategic Flexibility,” and Taiwan 16

Cost Sharing 17

Chain of Command/Wartime Operational Control 19

Delays and Reassessment of OPCON Transition Plan 20

Debate Around OPCON Plan Implementation 21

OPCON and the United Nations Command 21

Extended Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula and South Korea’s Nuclear Armament

Debate 22

Congress’s Role in Extended Deterrence 24

U.S.-ROK-Japan Trilateral Cooperation 25

U.S.-South Korean Cooperation on Shipbuilding 26

U.S.-ROK Alignment on North Korea 28