The political instability that South Korea is experiencing after the president imposed Martial Law will have repercussions beyond its own borders.
South Korea and the United States have a decades-old mutual defense treaty. This means that both countries must help each other if they are attacked.
Major US military installations are spread across South Korea.
Among them is Camp Humphreys, the largest US military installation outside the United States, with more than 41 thousand people, including military personnel, civilian workers, contractors and family members.
Alongside Japan and the Philippines, which also have a mutual defense treaty with the US, South Korea is part of a trio of regional powers that have helped reinforce American power in Asia and the Pacific for decades.
Experts argue that a significant presence of US Army troops on the Korean Peninsula is crucial to deter any potential attack from North Korea — as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to build a nuclear arsenal — and combat China.
While tensions between North and South Korea have eased in recent decades, the relationship has become particularly tense since Yoon took office, with both sides resorting to increasingly threatening rhetoric and actions.
This content was originally published in Analysis: South Korea is an important US ally and home to thousands of troops on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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