ABSTRACT
In spite of the increasing salience of Korea, the United States commitment to South Korea has an uncertain future. This chapter examines the concept of commitment, identifies the major features of the United States commitment to South Korea, and considers the future of the United States commitment. Commitments are an important feature of international politics and are relevant to relationships between friends and allies, as well as those between adversaries. The United States has fully acknowledged the continued importance of South Korea, irrespective of the end of the Cold War. The United States commitment to South Korea grew out of American involvement in the Korean War, was formalized in a mutual security treaty, and manifested in the continued deployment of substantial numbers of American forces in South Korea. In Ted Galen Carpenter's judgment "The continuing commitment to South Korea is a classic example of confusing a peripheral US security interest with a vital one.
