It Makes a Difference to the Sheep

MORE SIGNS OF THE INEVITABLE (?) RE-ALIGNMENT: China emerges as South Korea's number one export destination.

Last month, Korea's total outbound shipments hit a record high of $17 billion, driving its year-to-date trade surplus up to $8.34 billion.

The trade surplus with China from January to September more than doubled over last year to $8.19 billion and the ratio of China-bound shipments to the nation's total exports stood at 17.7 percent, exceeding the 17.5 percent for the U.S. market.

Folks like Andre Gunder Frank would see this is a natural outcome of the decline of the American "paper tiger" and the rise of "fiery dragon" China to its previously-held position of economic centrality and dominance. I suspect that Frank overlooks some significant challenges the PRC will have to meet in the near-term future (rich-poor/coast-interior gaps, bloated state-owned enterprises etc.) but it would be silly to assume that the U.S. will forever remain South Korea's largest trading partner. So, as the economic rationale for close U.S.-ROK ties diminishes at the same time that significant differences of opinion concerning security policy and geopolitics emerge, is there any hope for a continued American-Korean alliance? Stay tuned.