South Korea, US see progress on military control transfer as Pyongyang tensions simmer

SEOUL: South Korea's defence ministry and its U.S. counterpart shared the view that there had been significant progress in meeting conditions for a transfer of wartime operational control, a ministry official said on Wednesday.

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South Korea wants operational control of its forces in case of war, currently led by the US under existing arrangements.
President Lee aims to reduce tensions with North Korea, promoting peaceful coexistence and shared growth.
South Korea and the US agreed to deepen defense cooperation, especially in high-tech sectors, following their recent summit.

Currently, the U.S. would command allied troops in the event of war on the Korean peninsula, but South Korea has been seeking to gain "operational control".

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Tuesday to end a "vicious cycle of unnecessary military tensions" with North Korea, with the aim of achieving peaceful coexistence and shared growth.

After a senior-level meeting in Seoul, the South Korean defence ministry said in a statement that the two sides had assessed overall military cooperation to develop the alliance into a reciprocal, future-oriented, and modernised one.

They also agreed to cooperate on follow-up measures to what had been discussed during the first summit in August between the leaders of the two countries, the ministry said, without elaborating.

The statement did not mention the issue of operational control, but a South Korean official confirmed an earlier report by the Yonhap news agency that the two sides shared the view at the meeting.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said earlier he agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump during the summit to expand cooperation in high-tech defence sectors.