devil in the details. u.s. have bases all over the world, but nowhere is like the situation in korea (apart from the 1st gulf war, afghan war, and iraq war) where troops are in the highest alert always 24 by 7, not just recently, but since the 50s, for the last 60+ years. there are literally multiple u2 flights out of the airbase south of seoul every day since the inception of the u2. it's the longest uninterrupted operational series of sorties by u2's and other stealth and surveillance aircraft ever in history. plus satint for ground movement and artillery and missile flashes and underground elf surveillance for possible movements and incursions in hundreds of tunnels at the border. the korean war has not ended. it's the longest armistice commonly known as a ceasefire. sk troops which man the border have been at it in the most fortified no-man's land for the last 60+ years. u.s. army units were pulled back from forward bases and are now stationed in pusan, away from a pre-emptive 1st strike by nk. that alone will tell you something.