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Opinion
Why military independence from US could be Seoul’s best chance for peace
South Korea must secure US cooperation while navigating North Korea’s strengthened position and managing fears over regional security implications
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Dr Gabriela Bernal is a North Korea analyst based in Seoul, South Korea.
South Korea’s newly elected president, Lee Jae-myung, has been increasingly vocal about resuming exchanges with North Korea. This month alone, he has advocated for peaceful coexistence with the North, the removal of loudspeakers from the demilitarised zone (DMZ), the restoration of various inter-Korean agreements and the establishment of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.
Despite Lee’s diplomatic overtures, Pyongyang’s response has remained frosty. After years of hardline North Korea policy under former president Yoon Suk-yeol, it will take more than rhetoric to win over North Korea’s leadership. One of Lee’s key administrative goals is transferring wartime operational control (Opcon) of South Korea’s armed forces from a US commander back to a South Korean military general.
Earlier this month, a presidential committee in Seoul discussed a road map to reclaim military Opcon during Lee’s five-year term. This would not be the first such attempt by a South Korean president. Former president Moon Jae-in pursued but failed to accomplish this goal during his tenure. This, in turn, came after discussions about a 2015 transfer collapsed amid persistent concerns about the South Korean military’s capability to effectively counter threats from the North.
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