Notice that the goal to turn over OPCON to the ROK is well after President Trump leaves office which leaves door open for a new administration to delay it once again. The ROK has been saying decades now how they want wartime OPCON and then it always ends up being delayed. I guess in five years we will see what happens this time:

The Lee Jae Myung administration will seek to reclaim wartime operational control (OPCON) of the military from the U.S. within the next five years, establishing the goal as a key part of its foreign and security policy, according to its five-year policy road map announced Wednesday. 

The blueprint links this initiative to a broader strategy of pragmatic diplomacy and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, as well as to strengthening the country’s defense industry to enable it to become one of the world’s top four arms exporters.

The goals were announced by the State Affairs Planning Committee, a de facto transition team for the Lee administration following the snap election resulting from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

This was a pretty big screw up by whoever was captaining the ship:

Japan’s Ministry of Defense has denied a Japanese media report this week that Chinese naval vessels fired two warning shots at a Japanese warship that sailed into China’s territorial waters last year. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Suzutsuki on July 4, 2024, inadvertently sailed within 12 nautical miles of the coast of Zhejiang province, Kyodo News reported at the time.

The Japanese destroyer was monitoring a live-fire exercise by Chinese forces in Hangzhou Bay, according to the report. After repeatedly warning the destroyer to change course, Chinese vessels fired two warning shots — one before it entered territorial waters and another after it crossed into the area, Kyodo reported Sunday, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

Stars and Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Eighth Army is now on its third commander in less than a year with a permanent commander yet to be appointed:

A new acting commander took charge recently of Eighth Army, the U.S. field army in South Korea, after his predecessor took on a new role as deputy commanding general of the service’s ROTC program. Maj. Gen. William Taylor, previously the operations director for U.S. Forces Korea, U.N. Command and Combined Forces Command, on Aug. 7 assumed command of Eighth Army from Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, army spokesman James Choi said by email Tuesday. All three commands and the 2nd Infantry Division are headquartered at Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, about 40 miles south of Seoul in Pyeongtaek city. A former director of Army Aviation, Taylor led 2nd ID at Humphreys from May 2023 to June 2024.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

I think support for the operational flexibility for USFK will be a major outcome from this summit:

President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump will hold their first summit in Washington on Aug. 25 to discuss ways to bolster the two nations’ alliance and cooperation in advanced industries, the presidential office said Tuesday.

Lee will depart for a three-day visit to the United States on Aug. 24, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters, marking his first visit to the U.S. since he took office in early June.

“The two leaders plan to discuss ways to develop the Korea-U.S. alliance into a future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance in response to the changing international security and economic environment,” Kang said.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Cho Kuk and his family must have been cheering when they heard this news:

Former first lady Kim Keon Hee has been arrested on charges of involvement in a stock manipulation scheme, election meddling and bribery, making her and her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the first former presidential couple to be detained simultaneously.

The Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant against her late Tuesday, citing concerns she could destroy evidence, after special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team requested it last week on charges of violating the Capital Market Act, the Political Funds Act and a law on the acceptance of bribes for mediation.

During Tuesday’s hearing prior to her arrest, special prosecutors emphasized the risks of her destroying evidence, while her lawyers argued he had cooperated with questioning and was in poor health.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.