Editor’s note: The following article is an opinion piece by Steve Tharp, a retired U.S. Army officer and Department of the Army civilian who has served and lived in Korea for 34 years. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

South Korea has been nuclear-free for more than three decades, ever since President George H.W. Bush withdrew U.S. nuclear weapons from most overseas locations, including Korea, in 1991.

But in recent years, as North Korea has rapidly developed its weapons capabilities and ROK doubts about Washington’s commitment to its