Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
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 Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Pool via ReutersSouth 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
