US POLICY TOWARD THE KOREAN PENINSULA AND ROK-US RELATIONS

US policy toward the Korean peninsula is part of a larger framework of global, Northeast Asian and Korean peninsular strategic interests. At the global level, the US deals with North Korea in terms of preventin g the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and American policy towar d Pyongyang's nuclear weapon and missile development is basically prem ised on this global strategic view. At the regional level, the US must maintain the balance of power in Northeast Asia; the regional context of US policy to North Korea is interconnected with its policy toward China. At the Korean peninsular level, the US must reduce the tension between the two Koreas in order to prevent the outbreak of a war on th e peninsula and must also seek the ways by which a sudden North Korean collapse can be successfully managed. However, it is still unclear wh ether the Clinton administration puts more importance on the North-Sou th dialogue as a way of reducing tensions than upon the US-DPRK normal ization process. One important area where the interests coincide betwe en Korea and the US: Korea, for the purpose of survival, and the US, i n order to protect its leadership, both need an equilibrium within Nor theast Asia. However, convergence of interests does not always guarant ee policy coordination. The first priority of the Clinton administrati on's North Korea policy lies at the global level, the second at region al, and the third at the peninsular level. Korea's priorities are reve rse that. In order to make the Korea-US policy coordination more effec tive, first of all it is necessary for both parties to have more oppor tunities for coordinating policy priorities between their presidents, foreign ministers and working-level security officials. Second, the So uth Korean government needs to convince the US government that the US remain South Korea's ally rather than trying to play the role of a med iator between the two Koreas. Third, Korea and the US should make all efforts to cause their alliance to enter a consolidation stage in whic h they frequently consult each other on bilateral as well as regional issues and seek agenda building. In order to make that possible, Korea needs to manage well, through good political leadership, its relation ship with China as well as the increasing cynicism about the United St ates among its conservative middle class. Finally, Seoul should seek m ultilateral supplementary measures such as the NEASED (Northeast Asia Security Dialogue) since the development of the ROK-US relationship ca nnot alone ensure the national interests of South Korea.