Whereas the United States Armed Forces and South Korean troops fought together to defend the Korean peninsula from Communist aggression before the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed in 1953, and the United States of America and the Republic of Korea have continued this camaraderie since signing the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea that same year; Whereas the Republic of Korea is a model for alliance burden-sharing, currently hosting 28,500 American active-duty military personnel, funding fifty percent of the total non-personnel costs of the U.S. troop presence on the Korean peninsula, fielding the world’s seventh-largest military, and spending over 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product on defense; Whereas the Republic of Korea is among the closest allies of the United States, having contributed troops in support of United States operations during the Vietnam war, Gulf war, and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, while also supporting numerous United Nations peacekeeping missions throughout the world; Whereas United States forces on the Korean Peninsula are critical not only to the security of the Republic of Korea but also to protect against adversaries that threaten regional stability and the United States homeland; Whereas the U.S.-ROK Combined Forces Command is the most integrated and effective combined military command in the world and, taken together with the United Nations Command, has formed a structure that has provided effective defense and deterrence on the Korean Peninsula for decades; Whereas North Korea has the world’s fourth-largest military, in addition to potentially as many as 60 nuclear weapons and between 2,500 and 5,000 metric tons of chemical weapons; Whereas the United States supports the Republic of Korea’s efforts at peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula and recognizes the critical importance of close policy coordination between Washington and Seoul