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Park Chan-kyong

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt move to scale back annual military drills with South Korea has handed President Lee Jae Myung a fresh impetus for greater defence self-reliance even as he seeks to maintain the long-standing alliance.
Lee on Tuesday called for accelerated efforts to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces from the United States and build nuclear-powered submarines, casting both as part of a broader push to boost South Korea’s ability to defend itself.
His comments reflect Seoul’s growing concern over uncertainty in its alliance with the US under an “unpredictable” president, according to analysts.
“Ironically, President Trump’s unpredictability allows President Lee to move with greater strategic flexibility,” said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University.
“South Korea, like many other friends, has been whipsawed by President Trump, and this is another example of his capriciousness. But this gives President Lee all the more justification to push a greater self-reliance agenda,” Chang said.
At a government cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Lee highlighted South Korea’s growing defence capabilities.
“South Korea is ranked among the world’s top five military powers and is considered one of the world’s top four defence industry powers,” Lee said.
South Korea’s defence spending was equivalent to 1.4 times North Korea’s gross domestic product, he noted.

“Considering our weapons systems and the scale of our military capabilities, our ability to defend ourselves ranks among the world’s leading countries,” Lee said. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that our capabilities are more than sufficient.”
He added that “comprehensively upgrading our operational capabilities is essential to further strengthen our defence capabilities”.
Lee urged officials to step up efforts to regain wartime OPCON within his five-year term, which ends in June 2030, in line with the government’s initial plan.
At the same time, he stressed the importance of maintaining the alliance with the US while strengthening South Korea’s defence capabilities.
“A strong alliance will further solidify the foundation of our security, while strengthening our own capabilities will increase our value and necessity as an ally,” he said.
Lee also called for accelerated progress on a nuclear-powered submarine project, describing it as a symbol of a “more constructive and stronger future for the South Korea-US alliance”.
Washington has agreed to cooperate with Seoul on acquiring the necessary reactor fuel and addressing civil-military nuclear coordination to enable South Korea to build its first nuclear-powered attack submarines in the mid-2030s.
Lee’s remarks came after Trump ordered a major reduction in the scale of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), the annual South Korea-US military exercise that kicked off on Monday.

Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that the exercises were not only “costly” but also sent a “totally inappropriate and hostile” signal to North Korea. He also emphasised his “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
At a press briefing on Monday, Trump claimed that Kim had responded to his requests for talks. Trump met Kim three times during his first term: in Singapore in June 2018, in Hanoi in February 2019 and at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom in June 2019.
Asked whether he was prioritising North Korea’s interests over those of long-time US ally South Korea by scaling back the joint drills, Trump argued that he was making the security situation “much safer”.
Noting that he had recently spoken by phone with Lee, Trump said the South Korean president had declined his request for Seoul’s help regarding the war in Iran. Trump nevertheless described Lee as “very nice actually”.
Chang said he was concerned that the inconsistencies in US policy could undermine South Korea’s key projects, including the OPCON transfer, nuclear-powered submarines and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, all of which required US cooperation.
“President Trump is apparently dissatisfied with Seoul’s unresponsiveness to his request for help in his war against Iran and the slow implementation of its commitment to invest US$350 billion in the United States,” he said.
“Trump has some strong cards in his hand to put pressure on South Korea,” Chang said, citing Trump’s demand for greater burden-sharing by Seoul regarding the presence of 28,000 US troops and joint military exercises in South Korea.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said Trump’s remarks were aimed not only at luring North Korea back to dialogue but also at pressuring South Korea to contribute more to US efforts to address global security challenges.

Trump’s comments came ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Seoul from Wednesday to Thursday. Wang is scheduled to meet Lee on Thursday.
A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wang and his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun would discuss “bilateral ties, the situation on the Korean peninsula, and regional and international matters”.
Wang’s visit will be his first to South Korea since 2021. His previous meeting with Cho took place in Beijing in September last year.
“Ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, this will serve as an opportunity to review the results of the full restoration of Korea-China relations and to begin in earnest preparations for the next phase and high-level exchanges,” the spokesman said.
South Korea is expected to brief Wang on Lee’s latest proposal to formally end the Korean war, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Lee on Saturday proposed that the two Koreas begin talks on formally ending the war and discuss ways to halt the advancement of Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, pledging to seek a peace regime on the Korean peninsula.
Pyongyang, however, has yet to respond.
“Trump appears to be emphasising that any political gains achieved through a direct deal with Kim Jong-un should belong to him. The United States is likely to object if Seoul discusses an end-of-war declaration with Wang Yi,” Yang said.

He suggested that the US should hold talks with North Korea first, followed by inter-Korean talks and eventually four-party talks involving the two Koreas, the US and China.
“With Wang Yi’s visit and China’s growing interest in Korean peninsula affairs, Seoul should also make clear to Beijing that it intends to play a role as a facilitator of US-North Korea and inter-Korean dialogue,” he said.
“It is important to establish this position clearly so that China does not seek to constrain or undermine Seoul’s diplomatic efforts.”
Doo Jin-ho, director of the Eurasia Research Centre at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said given Trump’s criticism of South Korea’s insufficient contributions to the alliance as well as his tendency to link trade and security, Seoul should accede to US demands to some degree.
“President Lee wants to complete key projects such as the OPCON transfer, nuclear-powered submarines and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel within his official term,” Doo said.
“However, South Korea can’t proceed with these agendas without consent from Washington. That’s the stark reality.”


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President Lee Jae Myung wants South Korea to regain wartime operational control in his term even as he vows to maintain the US alliance


President Lee Jae Myung wants South Korea to regain wartime operational control in his term even as he vows to maintain the US alliance.


South Korea accelerates military self-reliance over Trump’s ‘unpredictability’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}President Lee Jae Myung wants South Korea to regain wartime operational control in his term even as he vows to maintain the US alliance

President Lee Jae Myung wants South Korea to regain wartime operational control in his term even as he vows to maintain the US alliance