Back in September, president Moon Jae-in revealed his intention to call for the move.
During the nation’s Armed Forces Day ceremony, he said South Korea “should have wartime operational control to instil fear in North Korea and win the trust of the citizens” and that “retrieving wartime operational control will boost military development and place South Korea at the centre of East Asian security, based on independent defence capabilities.”
Operational control refers to a right to control military operations – this is usually given to the head of the sovereign state, however, South Korea gave its operational control to the US’ General Douglas MacArthur in 1950 after the outbreak of the Korean War.
The South claimed back its peacetime operational control in 1994, although the wartime operational control is still held by the commander of the Combined Forces Command – this is a US general.
More to follow…