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Lee calls achieving self-reliant defense 'most basic of basics' amid new U.S. defense strategy

Published: 25 Jan. 2026, 12:56

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a meeting at the Blue House in central Seoul on Jan. 22. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung said Saturday achieving a self-reliant national defense is the "most basic of basics" amid a new U.S. defense strategy that calls for South Korea's primary role in its defense.

Lee wrote the message on his X account as the Pentagon said in its National Defense Strategy (NDS) that South Korea is capable of taking "primary" responsibility to deter North Korea with "critical, but more limited" U.S. support.

"In the midst of an unstable international security situation, achieving self-reliant defense is the most basic of basics," Lee wrote.

He said it will be inconceivable for South Korea to be unable to defend itself when its defense spending stands at 1.4 times larger than North Korea's GDP and it holds the world's fifth-largest military power.

"A robust self-reliant defense and peace on the Korean Peninsula will enable sustainable economic growth," Lee said.

The 2026 NDS is in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's America First policy that calls for allies to do more for their own defense.

South Korea plans to increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP "as soon as possible," and it also seeks to achieve a handover of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul within Lee's five-year term ending in 2030.

Yonhap