[20140813]IF00047_韩国：背景和美国关系.pdf

August 13, 2014 South Korea: Background and U.S. Relations Overview1 Since late 2008, relations between the United States and South Korea (known officially as the Republic of Korea, or ROK) arguably have been at their most robust since the formation of the U.S.-ROK alliance in 1953. Under South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who was inaugurated in February 2013, Seoul and Washington have tightly coordinated their North Korea policies amidst Pyongyangs various provocations, charm offensives, and internal unrest. Over the past two years, Washington and Seoul have updated and expanded alliance cooperation. South Korea also took the first steps toward a possible entry into the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement negotiations, which would build on the 2011 United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA). In 2013, the Obama and Park governments agreed toand Congress in 2014 supporteda two-year extension of a civilian nuclear energy cooperation agreement, now set to expire in 2016. Despite these developments, Park has hinted at policy moves that could test bilateral ties, including possible cooperation with North Korea in some areas, a proposal for South K