The US-ROK relationship is overshadowing other interests in Washington regarding foreign policy in East Asia. The ongoing US-China trade war may appear more urgent, but in the absence of Chinese visitors defending Chinese position or US officials eager to explain the US position when Trump is prone to change it on short notice, exchanges have been rather limited. US-North Korean relations and ROK-Japanese relations are encapsulated in discussions mostly through scrutiny of US-ROK differences in thinking. This article aims to capture the essence of such exchanges, setting aside for separate treatment the US response to the Japan-ROK quarrel.

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