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# The U.S.-South Korean Alliance: Time for a Change 

December 1990 

By [Doug Bandow](https://www.cato.org/people/doug-bandow) and [Ted Galen Carpenter](https://www.cato.org/people/ted-galen-carpenter) 

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##### About the Book 

The inconclusive outcome of the Korean War left a peninsula divided between two nations engaged in a deadly cold war. An important aspect of the continuing hostilities was America’s security guarantee to South Korea. Despite enormous geopolitical changes wrought by the accelerating collapse of communism, the United States has a standing pledge to go to war if necessary to thwart a North Korean attack. This volume assesses the current and future viability of the U.S.-Korean alliance from military, political, and economic perspectives.

##### About the Editors 

[Doug Bandow](http://www.cato.org/people/bandow.html) is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a nationally syndicated columnist. [Ted Galen Carpenter](http://www.cato.org/people/carpente.html) is vice president for [Defense and Foreign Policy Studies](http://www.cato.org/foreignpolicy/index.html) at the Cato Institute.