This would seem to make sense that if the Trump administration wants to turn USFK into more of a regional defense force that OPCON should be transferred to the ROK:
South Korea’s presidential office dismissed speculation that wartime operational control (Opcon) is being discussed in ongoing trade and security talks with the United States, as political tensions flare over a potential “package deal” ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline.
With fewer than 20 days remaining until the Trump-imposed tariff timeline, the Lee Jae Myung administration moved to shut down political controversy surrounding the transfer of Opcon.
Opcon refers to the authority to command combined U.S. and South Korean forces in wartime. Under the current system, a U.S. general heading the Combined Forces Command leads both militaries in the event of a major conflict with North Korea.
Once Opcon transfers, a South Korean general would command the future Combined Forces Command.
You can read more at the link, but what is interesting about the OPCON topic is that the Korean left has long sought this. Now that there is a U.S. adminstration willing to give it to them the Lee administration is backpeddaling from the negotiations.
Hopefully Ukraine’s allies are keeping pace with Russia’s allies in the production of artillery rounds:
North Korea has continued to provide Russia with artillery shells to support its war against Ukraine, which amounts to more than 12 million rounds of 152 mm shells, according to South Korea’s military intelligence authorities Sunday.
North Korea is believed to have provided around 28,000 containers containing weapons and artillery shells to date, according to a report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) submitted to a lawmaker of the main opposition party.
“If calculated with 152 mm single shells, (the number of supplied shells) are presumed to have reached more than 12 million,” the DIA under the defense ministry said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.
Despite the current trade and defense spats with the Trump administration the people of Korea still hold a very pro-US view according to this survey:
Nine out of 10 South Koreans regard the United States as their most important ally, with only a small minority viewing it as a significant threat.
According to the latest findings from the U.S.-based Pew Research Center, released Tuesday local time, 89 percent of South Korean respondents identified the United States as their country’s most vital ally.
The survey, conducted between Jan. 8 and April 26, included 28,033 respondents across 25 major countries. In South Korea, 1,042 adults aged 18 and older were interviewed by telephone during that period. (……….)
South Korea ranked second overall in pro-U.S. sentiment, following only Israel, where 95 percent of respondents named the U.S. as their most important ally. In comparison, 78 percent of Japanese respondents said the same, falling behind South Korea in terms of favorable views toward the U.S.
You can read more at the link.
One commentator at the Korea Times thinks so:
Just a day after stirring a beehive for Korean negotiators and the government engaged in tariff talks with the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Korea pays “very little” for America’s military support and should pay much more for its defense. Under a bilateral military alliance, there are 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in Korea.
“We rebuilt South Korea. We stayed there. It’s OK. We rebuilt it and we stayed there, and they pay us very little for the military,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting. “South Korea is making a lot of money and they are good … But you know, they should be paying for their own military.”
It’s the latest in a series of dramatic comments that the U.S. president has hurled at Korea. Trump on the campaign trail had said that Korea would be paying $10 billion a year if he were in the White House. (……..)
The time has come for officials to engage in talks based on data and numbers but also in a mutually beneficial and respectful manner. The U.S., for its part, should seriously consider the adverse impact its excessive demands on traditional allies such as South Korea will have on the deterrence against North Korea and — more profoundly for the U.S. — China. Alliances should not be sacrificed for the unilateral and transactional pursuit of short-term national interests as sought by the Trump administration.
You can read more at the link, but the alliance will survive the Trump administration. However, if the ROK does not agree to the strategic flexibility that the Pentagon is looking for then this could cause some changes to the alliance.
