South Korea Remains a Crucial U.S. Ally

Two critical agreements between the U.S. and South Korea will be renegotiated in 2018: a much-discussed free-trade deal and an under-the-radar arrangement for sharing military costs. Both sets of talks will shape the relationship between the two countries for years to come. They will also test whether the centripetal forces of compromise and collaboration are greater than the centrifugal forces of nationalism and protectionism.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. has initiated a review of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, or Korus. A new round of talks on the deal will be held this week in Seoul, with a goal of establishing "fair and reciprocal trade," according to the U.S. Trade Representative. It should be noted that Congress is largely in favor of Korus and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes withdrawing from it "in the strongest possible terms."