South Koreaargued, rightly, that such a safety netisessential ifemergingeconomies areable towithstandfinancialcriseswithoutpiling up ever-larger foreign-exchangereserves.
Twenty years later, the economic, technological, and societal disparity between the North and South has become so profound that it could be argued that SouthKorea could provide most of the forces for both the halt and counterattack phases of a conflict, aided by some U.S. air and sea formations plus critical enablers.
SouthKorea believes and has argued to the U.S. that it should have the same capabilities as Japan, a longtime rival and former colonial occupier, current and former U.S. officials said.