Page 14 - 한미기업인친선포럼 25.6월호

The evolving role of United States Forces Korea
(USFK) must be reassessed in light of fundamental
changes in U.S. foreign and security policy introduced

during the Trump administration. Characterized by
transactional diplomacy, strategic retrenchment, and a
strong emphasis on burden-sharing, Trump-era policies
challenged traditional alliance dynamics and introduced
new uncertainty into U.S. commitments abroad. Nowhere
is this more evident than on the Korean Peninsula,

where USFK stands at the intersection of deterrence
against North Korea and broader strategic competition in

the Indo-Pacific. Recalibrating the mission and posture of USFK is essential to
ensuring that the U.S.-ROK alliance remains resilient, adaptive, and relevant in a

transformed security environment.
Historically, USFK has served as a forward-deployed force focused primarily on
deterring North Korean aggression. That mission remains vital, but it is no longer

sufficient. The Indo-Pacific has become the principal theater of geopolitical rivalry
between the United States and China, and regional security threats are

increasingly multidimensional, spanning cyber, space, and the maritime domain.
The Trump administration’s repeated calls for allied cost-sharing and its
suggestion that U.S. troops could be repositioned if allies failed to meet financial

expectations revealed a deeper strategic recalibration: forward presence was to
be justified by measurable returns, not by historical legacy.

Rather than resisting this logic, South Korea can seize the opportunity to
proactively shape a new strategic narrative for USFK—one that supports
deterrence on the Peninsula while contributing to regional stability. A USFK

capable of greater operational mobility and regional responsiveness would
strengthen the broader Indo-Pacific security architecture. However, this expansion
in scope must be accompanied by mutually agreed mechanisms that ensure prior

consultation and transparency, particularly in scenarios where U.S. forces based
in Korea may be called upon to support contingencies unrelated to North Korea.