A senior researcher at a U.S. think tank says the difference in perspectives on North Korea is the biggest challenge to the stability of the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
Derek Mitchell, senior fellow in the Center for Strategic and International Studies, made the comment in a report entitled "Strategy and Sentiment: South Korean Views of the United States and the U.S.-ROK alliance."
He also said that such a clear gap in the two allies' perceptions on North Korea was reflected in Washington's recent announcement of its plan to reduce troops on the Korean Peninsula.