According to Yonhap, South Korean President Lee Jae-myeong stated on August 18 that the government should earnestly proceed with taking back the wartime combat command from the US during his presidency, according to the established plan. He also expressed hope that relevant departments will accelerate the construction project of nuclear submarines.
In the context of the Korean-US routine joint military exercises being launched on the 17th, Lee Jae-myung stated during a state meeting held at the Presidential Palace on that day that in order to further strengthen national defense capabilities, it is imperative to comprehensively upgrade combat execution capabilities.
On August 16th, local time, U.S. President Donald Trump instructed U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis to significantly reduce the joint military exercises scheduled with South Korea. The reason given by Trump publicly was that South Korea did not provide assistance in promoting U.S.-led efforts toward Iran’s denuclearization.
But according to three people familiar with the matter, the Trump administration also has long-standing complaints about South Korea's economic issues. Last year, South Korea promised to invest $350 billion in the United States in exchange for more favorable trade conditions. However, the Trump administration believes that Seoul is implementing these promises too slowly.
Amid concerns in the outside world that Trump may have instructed a reduction in the scale of joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States, or that this could affect the process of reclaiming military powers, Lee Jae-myung's statement has attracted attention. According to Yonhap, it is analyzed that Lee Jae-myung's stance shows his determination to firmly advance the implementation of important defense commitments such as the recovery of military powers.
Li Jieming emphasized that South Korea has the necessary conditions to achieve self-reliant defense. He pointed out that South Korea's military strength ranks fifth globally, its military industry is among the top four in the world, its defense expenditures are 1.4 times the GDP of North Korea, and both its weapon system and combat capabilities are among the best in the world.
Li Zaiming also emphasized the importance of the South Korean-US alliance. He stated that a strong South Korean-US alliance and the strengthening of independent defense capabilities are necessary conditions for each other. Only when the alliance is solid can the foundation of national security be further consolidated; only by strengthening independent defense can the value and necessity of the alliance be further enhanced. He instructed relevant departments to accelerate the construction of nuclear submarines, which symbolize the future of the South Korean-US alliance.
Lee Jae-ming's claim that "South Korea has become the fifth largest military power in the world" is based on data from the Global Firepower Index (GFP), a U.S.-based military assessment organization. The GFP calculates its index using indicators such as military force, number of weapons, economic strength, mobilizable personnel during wartime, and defense budget. The closer a country's score to "0", the stronger its military power. In the 2024 Global Firepower Index ranking released by GFP, South Korea ranked fifth with a power index of 0.1656. The top four countries were the United States (0.0744), Russia (0.0788), China (0.0788), and India (0.1184).
However, it is worth noting that the GFP ranking does not include nuclear weapons indicators, which makes the ranking lose its key reference value.
Currently, South Korea has taken back the military command authority during peacetime, but has not taken back the command authority during wartime. South Korean Defense Minister An Geumbi stated in June this year that South Korea and the United States will discuss related issues at the security conference to be held in November. Based on these discussions, a proposal will be presented to the leaders of both countries, and then decide on the specific year for handing over the wartime command authority.
