NEW YORK — Progress in stalled negotiations over Korean investment in the United States was cited as the key reason a South Korea-U.S. summit that had appeared unlikely to happen was arranged at the last minute. Major security issues that had been tied up alongside the investment talks — the transfer of wartime operational control, nuclear-powered submarines, the South Korea-U.S. nuclear energy agreement and shipbuilding cooperation — are also set to regain momentum.
Wi Sung-lac, director of the Presidential Office's National Security Office, told reporters at a press center set up in New York on the 22nd that President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump for about 30 minutes starting at 7:20 p.m. He said the two leaders welcomed the significant progress made in discussions on strategic investment projects between the two countries, and on security matters confirmed a shared commitment to further deepening cooperation between Seoul and Washington.
The early transfer of wartime operational control, raised by Lee, took up a substantial portion of the summit. A senior Presidential Office official said the South Korean side explained the need for the transfer and that Trump came to understand the issue much better. The official said Lee conveyed his hope that the matter could be wrapped up quickly while the conditions for the transfer are met.
The first test of the command transfer discussions is expected to be the 58th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), to be held in Washington next month. The government is pushing to complete the second-stage full operational capability (FOC) assessment for the transfer before the SCM, obtain approval from both defense ministers, and then present a target year for the transfer — the so-called "Year X." For now, 2028, before the end of Trump's term, is cited as the likely target year.
The command transfer goes through three stages of assessment and verification: initial operational capability (IOC), FOC and full mission capability (FMC). With the FOC verification now entering its final phase, presenting a target year at the SCM would allow the process to move to the last FMC stage. Lee, who is pushing for a transfer of wartime operational control within his term, raising the issue directly with Trump is read as a sign of his determination to break the deadlock and speed up the transfer timetable. It was the first time the issue had actually been discussed at the leaders' level.
Lee is also said to have emphasized an increase in defense spending and the will to build up independent defense capabilities in order to strengthen Seoul's leverage in negotiations on the command transfer, the introduction of nuclear-powered submarines and the nuclear energy agreement. A senior Presidential Office official said Lee conveyed the view that South Korea would like to increase defense spending or reaffirm its willingness to take on greater responsibility for the defense of the Korean Peninsula to strengthen its independent defense capabilities, and that as an extension of this, it hoped discussions on nuclear-powered submarines would accelerate.
Trump is said to have shown greater interest in shipbuilding cooperation. A senior Presidential Office official said Trump showed considerable enthusiasm for shipbuilding cooperation, including the construction of warships the United States needs, and indicated a desire to move quickly on follow-up discussions. The two countries agreed to hold follow-up consultations on security issues in Washington as soon as possible.
The resumption of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang was also on the table. Trump reaffirmed his willingness to talk with North Korea, and Lee asked the United States to create a breakthrough for such talks at a time when direct contact between the two Koreas has effectively been cut off. The Presidential Office cautioned against over-interpretation, however, saying there was no confirmation of any specific contact currently under way between Washington and Pyongyang. The Strait of Hormuz issue, on which the United States has been asking South Korea to expand its role, was not discussed separately at this summit.
The meeting came together dramatically. The summit schedule had not been confirmed until the last minute. With the strategic investment negotiations proving difficult, there was considerable speculation that a summit would be hard to arrange. Lee is said to have attended a reception that began at 7 p.m. and continued conversations with other heads of state until shortly before the summit. Once the summit was confirmed, the two leaders met at a separate venue, and after the 30-minute talks, Lee and Trump walked back into the reception together. The Presidential Office said the meeting with Lee was the last of Trump's bilateral talks during the U.N. General Assembly.
Attending from the U.S. side were Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. That was far more than the two aides each side had originally agreed to, according to the Presidential Office. They are key U.S. figures on investment in the United States, which is being read as a sign of the White House's deep interest in the results and progress of that investment.
