Lee, Trump discuss wartime OPCON transfer for 1st time
President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by their officials, hold a summit at a hotel in New York, Tuesday (local time), on the sidelines of Lee's visit for the U.N. General Assembly. Yonhap
President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) of Korean forces from Washington to Seoul during a summit in New York, Tuesday (local time).
Although the issue has been under discussion for decades, it was the first time that it has been raised between Lee and Trump, according to a senior Cheong Wa Dae official.
The 30-minute summit was arranged unexpectedly on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where Lee and Trump both delivered speeches.
The official said Lee devoted “considerable time” to explaining Korea’s position on the transfer and Trump showed “a great deal of understanding” of the issue.
The Lee administration has pursued retaking OPCON by 2028 or even 2027 if possible, but U.S. military officials have said necessary conditions would not be met until the first quarter of 2029.
Regarding the OPCON transfer, Lee outlined Korea’s efforts to strengthen its own defense capabilities, including plans to increase defense spending, and reaffirmed its willingness to take greater responsibility for defense, according to the official.
Whether the meeting would take place had remained uncertain before Lee’s departure for the U.S., but progress in negotiations on Korean investment in the U.S. gave momentum to plans for a summit, which was confirmed only on Tuesday morning, according to the official.
“The two leaders welcomed the substantial progress made in discussions on strategic investment projects between the two countries,” National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said during a press briefing.
Wi explained that the two leaders also reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening cooperation on fuel for nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing and shipbuilding, building on a joint fact sheet issued after their summit in November 2025.
In that context, Lee also called for faster discussions on nuclear submarines, and the two sides agreed to continue consultations.
Shipbuilding cooperation was one of the issues that drew particular interest from the U.S. side, with Trump expressing strong interest in the matter. The two leaders agreed to accelerate follow-up discussions.
Meanwhile, the two leaders did not discuss potential Korean military deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, an issue over which Trump has continued to press Seoul.
“With so many other issues discussed, Hormuz did not come up,” the official said. “It was not deliberately left out. Neither side raised it.”