Report to Congress on U.S.-South Korea Alliance

The following is the June 9, 2026, Congressional Research Service report, The U.S.-South Korea Alliance. From the Report The U.S.-South Korea (Republic of Korea, or ROK) alliance dates to the 1950-1953 Korean War, during which more than 36,000 Americans died in-theater helping South Korea repel an invasion by North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) intended to reunify the country under communist rule. An Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, the same year the United States and South Korea signed the U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty, which commits the United States to defend South Korea, particularly from North Korea.