President Lee Jae Myung: Wartime Operational Control Must Be Returned Swiftly

President Lee Jae Myung said on the 19th that wartime operational control (the authority for South Korea's military to independently command operations in wartime) "must be returned swiftly," adding that discussions between South Korea and the United States are moving in the direction of returning it. President Lee made the remarks during a luncheon and meeting with reporters at Chunchugwan, the press center at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, marking the government's 500th day in office. The meeting began with a question about recent comments by U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson regarding a possible change in the conditions for the transfer of wartime operational control.

While acknowledging that the process will not be easy, given that more than 70 years have passed since the control was handed over, President Lee said, "We must take charge of our own defense, and we are fully capable of doing so." As evidence, he cited defense capability figures, noting that South Korea's defense spending is roughly 1.5 times North Korea's annual gross national product. "Excluding nuclear forces, South Korea ranks fifth in the world in conventional military power," the president said, adding, "Are we going to fight a war with nuclear weapons? Those are weapons of last resort."

Regarding the U.S. position, President Lee said, "It means they want to verify whether we can defend ourselves adequately and conduct operations independently before handing it over." He added, "I appreciate that, but isn't this something we should do ourselves anyway? It will go well." "I don't understand why there is any objection at all."

At the same meeting, asked about denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States, he replied briefly, "I have no information on that."

No additional announcements on the wartime operational control discussions have been confirmed, with matters to be finalized depending on the progress of future South Korea-U.S. consultations.