When U.S. President George W. Bush was in Pusan last weekend for the APEC summit, he and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun agreed upon a "strategic dialogue" at ministerial level on security issues.
That barely papered over the cracks. Roh, by announcing a partial withdrawal of South Korean forces from Iraq without consulting Bush, deliberately embarrassed his guest. Thus Roh made it obvious that the alliance is rapidly unwinding. America should now remove its remaining ground forces from South Korea.
America's job is done in South Korea. So now it is time to declare victory and go home. The congruence of strategic interest that underpinned the U.S.-South Korea alliance is rapidly eroding. That is a consequence of the winning of the Cold War, and China's turn to capitalism.