For thirty-five years since the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, the Korean peninsula has been a focus of East–West confrontation in Northeast Asia. Its root cause, the division of the peninsula into North and South Korea, was a direct consequence of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. The ensuing bitter doctrinal enmity and military confrontation between the two Koreas reflected conflicting interests between the US and the USSR (and the People's Republic of China – PRC). Since the armistice of 1953, a state of neither peace nor war has obtained on the Korean scene among the contending parties. The forward basing of US forces in South Korea is one symbol of the entangling conflict.

Amongst the variables that affect the peace and security of the peninsula, this study chose to emphasize the role of the American security commitment to South Korea as a key determinant. This is because the presence of sizable US forces in South Korea ever since the end of the Korean War has been the single most important factor in preventing recurrence of war between the contending Koreas. Accordingly, this study examines in particular the role of US forces in South Korea and those interests (both US domestic and international) which have pressed for and against a US military presence.