Trump-Lee Summit May Renew Seoul's Abandonment Concerns

2025-08-15 07:01:22

(MENAFN- Asia Times) The upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and newly elected South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is shaping up to be a crucial moment in the more than seventy-year-long alliance.

The two leaders inked a vague agreement on trade and investment late last month, which appears to have opened the door to good relations, and President Lee has eagerly sought this meeting to strengthen his legitimacy and demonstrate his diplomatic skills.

But the summit also has the potential to imperil the alliance. While some economic issues remain-not least the US tariffs on automobiles and semiconductors-the meeting is more likely to focus on a range of contentious security issues.

These include US demands for greater South Korean contributions to defense costs and pressures for South Korea to commit to join military contingencies in Taiwan and subordinate its policies to an aggressive US stance toward China.

All of these issues are now joined under two broad policy umbrellas the Trump administration calls“alliance modernization” and“strategic flexibility .”

Both concepts embody the idea of shifting the alliance away from its sole focus on deterring North Korea toward a broader regional approach that prioritizes confrontation with China, including the use of US Forces Korea (USFK) in a Taiwan contingency. China is the number one strategic threat to the United States, and allies and partners must“do more ,” according to an interim strategic guidance document the US Department of Defense issued in July.

“Strategic flexibility” means that in the event of a clash with China, US military forces based in South Korea will be withdrawn and deployed elsewhere . It demands that South Korea take on the preponderant burden of defense against potential North Korean aggression.

USFK Commander Xavier Brunson recently stated that the“USFK must be able to move to other locations and perform other missions at any time” and that South Korea must“play a great role in responding to North Korea, and USFK demonstrate flexibility to perform other missions.”

General Brunson acknowledged South Korea's desire to connect any moves in this direction with the completion of a plan to reform the current system of operational control (OPCON), which places South Korea's military under US command during wartime.

OPCON transfer to South Korea has been a long-standing goal for South Korea, particularly under progressive administrations. If the United States shifts its focus, then“the transition of wartime operational control in which South Korea leads the defense of the Korean Peninsula must also be expedited,” argued the progressive Kyunghyang Shinmun .

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