Lee Jae-myung, the president, on the 24th addressed the Donald Trump administration in the United States specifying in its new National Defense Strategy (NDS) that "Korea has the capability to take primary responsibility for deterring North Korea," saying, "In an unstable international landscape, independent defense is the basics of the basics."
On this day, the president shared on his X (formerly Twitter) an article analyzing the Trump administration's new NDS and said, "It is unthinkable that the Republic of Korea, which spends 1.4 times North Korea's GDP (gross domestic product) on defense and has the world's fifth-largest military power, cannot defend itself," adding, "A firm independent defense and peace on the Korean Peninsula make sustained economic growth possible."
Through this NDS, the Trump administration assessed that "Korea has the capability to take primary responsibility in deterring North Korea while receiving critical but more limited US support." This means the ally, Korea, should take a more leading role than before across security, including building conventional deterrence.
In line with this shift in the US stance, independent defense policies being pursued by the Lee Jae-myung administration—such as the transfer of wartime operational control and the modernization of US Forces Korea assets—are expected to gain further momentum. Earlier, the two countries discussed this direction of role adjustment through a joint fact sheet in Nov. last year and a Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) statement last month.
The president's latest message is seen as both responding to the Trump administration's defense strategy and reaffirming the intention to complete the transfer of wartime operational control within the term, a presidential campaign pledge.