Why it’s in America’s interest to withdraw troops from Korea – Ep. 251

How far should the U.S. go to protect its allies, and can South Korea do more to protect itself without outside help?

Doug Bandow (@Doug_Bandow), a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, has spent decades considering this equation and has come to believe the U.S.-ROK alliance needs serious reimagination, starting with the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula.

Bandow says South Korea is rich and powerful enough to carry its own water, and that the U.S. can have a more effective foreign policy — in Asia and elsewhere — by understanding when and where to use force, and where to retrench itself.

On this episode of the NK News Podcast, Bandow and host Jacco Zwetsloot also discuss the China-Taiwan issue, whether Beijing would really intervene in case of a second Korean War, the upshot of multipolarity, the limits of extended deterrence against North Korea and the merits of a South Korean nuclear program.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot (@JaccoZed) exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.