South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said his country is fully capable of taking back wartime operational control of combined South Korean and US forces stationed in the country, adding that discussions with Washington over the transfer are progressing well.
Lee made the remarks on Monday, October 19, while speaking to reporters at the Blue House presidential compound in Seoul. He also said South Korea had built a powerful military capable of countering North Korea, despite Pyongyang’s development of nuclear weapons.
According to Lee, North Korea’s nuclear weapons are fundamentally intended as a final means of defence rather than tools for fighting a war.
“To put it plainly, we should take back wartime operation control at an early time. We are fully capable of it and discussions with the US are basically going well,” Lee said.
However, he acknowledged that completing the transfer would not be straightforward, noting that the United States had been entrusted with operational control for about 70 years.
South Korea made the decision during the 1950–1953 Korean War, allowing the US military to lead United Nations forces fighting in support of South Korea. The two countries agreed in 2007 to eventually transfer operational command back to Seoul.
The United States currently stations approximately 28,500 troops and military equipment in South Korea as part of their joint defence against North Korea, which continues to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The two Koreas technically remain at war because their conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Lee has pledged to complete the transfer of wartime command of the combined South Korean and US forces before the end of his five-year presidential term in 2030. Successive South Korean administrations have pursued the same objective for decades.
If the transfer is completed, a South Korean general would lead allied South Korean and US forces during a war with North Korea, instead of an American commander.
The two allies have been holding discussions to assess whether South Korea’s military is ready to assume the responsibility. However, differences have emerged over the process and the timeline.
US Forces Korea commander General Xavier Brunson said this week that the security environment had changed since the allies established the requirements for transferring operational control.
South Korean media have reported that Seoul favours 2028 as the target year for the handover. However, Brunson told a US congressional hearing in April that the American military had submitted a roadmap aimed at meeting the required conditions by early 2029.
