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New U.S. defense strategy means South will have to practice more 'self-reliance' in deterring North

Published: 26 Jan. 2026, 06:00

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

President Lee Jae Myung emphasized the importance of “self-reliant national defense” on Saturday, as a new U.S. defense strategy places greater responsibility for deterring North Korea on South Korea.

His remarks followed the release on Friday of the U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS), which outlines a shift in alliance burden-sharing. Under the strategy, South Korea would assume primary responsibility for deterring North Korea’s conventional military threats, while the United States would provide more limited support.

In an article analyzing the strategy that he posted on his X account, Lee wrote that “in an unstable security environment, self-reliant national defense is fundamental.”

“It is inconceivable that South Korea, which spends 1.4 times North Korea’s GDP on defense and has the world’s fifth-largest military, cannot defend itself,” he added.

The new NDS document also avoids explicitly stating North Korean denuclearization as a policy goal, as had the National Security Strategy paper released in December last year.

Instead, the document highlights what it calls a “shift in the balance of responsibility,” signaling possible adjustments not only to the role and scale of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) but also to the nature of the South Korea–U. S. alliance, which is grounded in their Mutual Defense Treaty.

Apache helicopters are on standby at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi on Dec. 18, 2025. [YONHAP]

“We will also urge and enable key regional allies and partners to do more for our collective defense,” the strategy stated, adding that the United States does not seek isolation but “focused engagement abroad,” with alliances “advancing the concrete, practical interests of Americans” rather than functioning as the “dependencies of the last generation.”

The NDS also made clear that South Korea should take the lead in countering North Korea’s conventional military capabilities.

“This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with America’s interest in updating U.S. force posture on the Korean Peninsula,” the document states. “In this way, we can ensure a stronger and more mutually beneficial alliance relationship that is better aligned with America’s defense priorities, thereby setting conditions for lasting peace.”

Under this framework, South Korea would expand its role in conventional defense, while the United States would focus on extended deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear threats.

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas in South Korea on July 19, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The approach aligns with the Trump administration’s broader “alliance modernization” policy, which seeks to adjust overseas troop deployments and increase allied contributions as part of efforts to counter China and prepare for contingencies such as a crisis over Taiwan.

Seoul and Washington had already signaled this direction in a joint fact sheet released on Nov. 14 last year, in which South Korea pledged to accelerate efforts to strengthen essential military capabilities needed to lead combined conventional defenses against North Korea, with U.S. support.

A joint statement issued after a Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in December 2025 reiterated that South Korea would play a leading role in conventional defense on the Korean Peninsula.

The shift also aligns with the Lee Jae Myung administration’s goal of achieving the transfer of wartime operational control during his term. In the alliance, wartime operational control refers to which side holds command authority over combined forces in the event of a conflict.

A U.S. Forces Korea F-16 fighter jet carrying U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman John Daniel Caine takes off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi on Nov. 3, 2025. [NEWS1]

Still, concerns persist that the evolving framework could create gaps in allied cooperation regarding Pyongyang’s nuclear program.

Lee has previously suggested that sanctions, relief or other incentives could be offered to North Korea if it halted nuclear activities short of full denuclearization.

“It is also beneficial if North Korea no longer produces nuclear material, does not transfer nuclear material overseas and refrains from developing intercontinental ballistic missile technology,” he said during a New Year’s press conference on Wednesday. “Even freezing the current situation would be beneficial.”

Critics argue that adjusting the role and scale of USFK while sidelining denuclearization as a short-term objective could embolden North Korea.

The NDS document itself acknowledges that North Korea’s nuclear forces “present a clear and present danger of nuclear attack on the American homeland,” recognizing the likelihood that Pyongyang will continue to advance its nuclear capabilities.

Victor Cha, who serves as the Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned in a video posted to the CSIS YouTube channel last May that a U.S. policy shift prioritizing a Taiwan contingency over the Korean Peninsula could increase the risk of miscalculation by North Korea.

“This reorientation by the Trump administration to focus most of the U.S. military attention on a Taiwan and First Island Chain contingency rather than on something like the Korean Peninsula could create an environment in which the North Koreans feel a little bit more confident than they should be and could lead to miscalculation,” Cha said.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters over the North Atlantic as he returns to Washington from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, aboard Air Force One on Jan. 22. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Additional concerns have emerged over the emphasis of the NDS on restoring U.S. dominance in the Western Hemisphere while maintaining “the military conditions required” to achieve a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific that would allow for “a decent peace.”

Analysts say this posture could impose additional strategic burdens on South Korea.

“The strategy shows that the United States is concentrating its security influence on the Western Hemisphere, and that approach could pose a crisis for Asian allies such as South Korea,” said Kim Jae-chun, a professor at Sogang University’s Graduate School of International Studies. “As a result, South Korea now faces difficult questions over what role it should play in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Against this backdrop, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for policy Elbridge Colby arrived in South Korea on Sunday afternoon.

Colby, considered a key architect of U.S. defense strategy under the Trump administration, is expected to explain the new defense strategy in meetings with senior South Korean officials. Discussions are likely to include South Korea’s participation in U.S. strategy toward China and USFK’s future role.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]