ABSTRACT
Cost-sharing assumes only monetary contributions, but burden-sharing attempts to balance the intangible costs associated with maintaining the NATO alliance. It is important to note that burden-sharing in the NATO alliance is entirely different from that in the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. relationship. The issue of burden-sharing first became problematic in the U.S-ROK relationship in 1971, when 20, 000 US troops were withdrawn from South Korea. The relationship remained strong into the early 1980s. On a visit to the ROK in 1983, President Reagan reaffirmed the pledge of US support for South Korea. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger also praised the alliance on a 1986 visit to South Korea. The continued US presence in South Korea has come under increasing scrutiny in the 1980s. At the heart of the criticism is the issue of burden- sharing. The preeminent financial issue has been the slowed growth of the US defense budget.
