1950ㆍ60년대 미국의 한국군 감축론과 한국정부의 대응

Abstract

After the Korean War, the United States tried to phase down South Korean military and U.S. military stationed in South Korea in order to reduce U.S. assistance. The president and the state department propelled the policy, while the Joint Chiefs of Staff strongly opposed because of Chinese Army stationed in North Korea until 1958.

This policy was not successful because of changes of the world situation, especially the Sputnik in the late 1950s. The reponses of the Rhee Administration and South Korea"s social situation were another reasons why U.S. policy was not carried out. The U.S. reconsidered military policy and gave up the phase-down policy in South Korea.

Since 1961 the Kennedy Administration tried again to reduce both South Korean and American military in South Korea. However, the aim of the reduction was quite different from the Eisenhower Administrations. The policy in the Kennedy Administration was to replace the military aid by economic development one. The policy based on new American policy toward the Third World in the early 1960s.

American military policy toward South Korea in the early 1960s, however, was not carried out. It was because the South Korean military participated at the Vietnam War in 1965. In fact The South Korean government suggested the dispatch of the military in 1961 in order to oppose the phase-down policy. After the dispatch, U.S. military aid as well as economic development aid was greatly increased compared to the plan that U.S. had designed in the early 1960s.

There are two differences between the 1950s and the 1960s from the viewpoint of the military policies toward South Korea. First of all, the aims were different. At second, the reasons why two policies were not carried out were not same. In the end, through this examination, it is clear that U.S. policy toward the Third World was changed in the early 1960s and responses of the recipient countries as well as world situation should be carefully considered to examine the U.S. policies toward the Third World.