Lee calls for South Korea to regain wartime command as US talks continue
President Lee Jae Myung says South Korea is capable of taking wartime operational control, but the allies have yet to settle the timing and readiness conditions.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on October 19 in Seoul for his country to regain wartime operational control from the United States at an early date, saying South Korea was capable of assuming command and talks with Washington were progressing. The remarks put renewed attention on when the allies could make the change and what readiness standards they will apply.
Speaking to reporters at the presidential press centre during a meeting marking his 500th day in office, Lee said operational control entrusted to another country could not be left that way indefinitely. He described military sovereignty as a core part of national sovereignty and argued that South Korea should regain wartime command promptly, according to Yonhap.
Lee said the related talks were ‘basically going well’ and that South Korea was sufficiently capable of taking control. He also acknowledged the US position that Seoul’s ability to defend itself should be confirmed before a handover, while arguing that South Korea must take responsibility for assessing and developing its own capabilities.
Why the wartime command timetable remains unsettled
Lee’s administration wants to regain wartime operational control before its term ends in 2030. Reuters reported that 2028 and early 2029 had been discussed, but the allies have not agreed on a transfer date. They are still discussing how to assess the South Korean military’s readiness to lead the combined forces.
The timing has become a point of friction. US Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said at an event in Washington last week that security conditions had changed, citing North Korea’s recent missile launches, and called for new transfer standards, Yonhap reported. A South Korean defence ministry spokesperson responded that the goal might never be reached if the goalposts kept moving.
That exchange followed the allies’ earlier discussion of transfer conditions, covered in our report on the US commander’s comments. Lee’s latest remarks add a direct presidential call for an early return of command, alongside his assessment that South Korea can take it on.
How South Korea’s command arrangements developed
South Korea handed operational control to the US-led UN Command during the 1950–53 Korean War. It moved to the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command when that body was established in 1978. Seoul regained peacetime operational control in 1994, but wartime control remains in US hands, Yonhap reported.
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Sources and context
- S. Korea President Lee says country capable of taking back wartime command of combined US forcesReuters, carried by The Straits Times
- (2nd LD) Lee says wartime operational control must be retaken at early dateYonhap News Agency
- (LEAD) Lee says wartime operational control must be retaken at early dateYonhap News Agency; later version marked syndicated from Yonhap's 2nd LD report
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.