South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has reaffirmed his push for South Korea to regain independent control of its military from the US after President Trump announced the scaling back of joint US-South Korean military drills taking place this week.
The US has had wartime operational control of South Korea’s military since the Korean War, which technically never ended. Combat was halted by a 1953 armistice, but the two sides never signed a formal peace treaty.
South Korea took peacetime operational control, or OPCON, of its military in 1994, but the US still holds wartime OPCON. Lee previously committed to regaining wartime OPCON by the end of his term in 2030, which he reaffirmed at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“A strong alliance makes the foundation of security stronger, and strengthening our own capabilities increases our value and necessity as an ally,” Lee said, according to The Guardian.
Also on Tuesday, Wi Sung Lac, Lee’s national security advisor, said that South Korea remained in close coordination with the US regarding joint military exercises. “Based on the strong South Korea-US alliance, our government has been continuing coordination with the US side on combined exercises and drills between South Korea and the US,” Wi said, according to the YONHAP News Agency.
Trump announced on Sunday that he ordered US War Secretary Pete Hegseth to “substantially reduce” Ulchi Freedom Shield, major joint US-South Korean war games that began on Monday, though it’s unclear if they are being reduced in any significant way.
The US president said he took the step based on his “very good relationship” with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, whom he met with three times during his first term. Lee’s office responded by saying it hoped that relationship would lead to “meaningful dialogue” and “discussions aimed at advancing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
While Trump has framed his action as some sort of punishment over South Korea’s lack of support for the Iran war, it aligns with the agenda President Lee has been attempting to pursue. Just one day before Trump’s announcement, Lee proposed direct talks with North Korea.
