Here's why South Korea wants more control over future regional wars

U.S. soldiers from 2nd Infantry Division, participate in a UFS/TIGER Combined Urban Operations plan as part of Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises at Wollong Urban Area Operatiions training center on Paju in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 23 August 2023.Jeon Heon-Kyun | Pool | via ReutersAt the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung used a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to revisit one question in their countries' military alliance: who would lead their combined forces if war resumed on the Korean Peninsula?The two sides' 30-minute summit covered strategic investment, shipbuilding and nuclear cooperation, as well as the transition of wartime operational control, or OPCON, to South Korea.The renewed attention on OPCON comes after Trump abruptly curtailed the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercise between the two countries last month, prompting concerns about combined readiness.The topic appeared again most recently as new defense minister Kang Shin-chul took office on Tuesday, after he argued that a structure in which Korean commanders take the lead, backed by the U.S. military, would make the combined defense system "much strong...