{
  "id": 1610251,
  "title": "Lee reaffirms push to retake wartime operational control of troops during his term",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/lee-reaffirms-push-to-retake-wartime-operational-control-of-troops-1610251",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-18T02:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/defense/20260818/lee-reaffirms-push-to-retake-wartime-operational-control-of-troops-during-his-term"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "President Lee Jae Myung has reaffirmed his commitment to regaining wartime operational control (OPCON) of troops from the United States before his term ends. He made this statement during a Cabinet meeting, emphasizing the importance of self-reliant defense capabilities. According to The Korea Times, the OPCON transfer was initially planned to be completed during his term, and he has reiterated this goal.\n\nThe president also instructed officials to accelerate the implementation of a project to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. He stressed that independent defense capabilities and a strong alliance between Seoul and Washington should complement each other.\n\nThere are no additional details or differing accounts from other sources. The reports from The Korea Times are identical, providing a unified account of President Lee Jae Myung's statements and commitments regarding OPCON and defense capabilities.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yonhap News",
        "title": "Lee reaffirms push to retake wartime operational control of troops during his term",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/lee-reaffirms-push-to-retake-wartime-operational-control-of-troops-1610687",
        "published": "2026-08-18T01:46:22.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Lee reaffirms push to retake wartime operational control of troops during his term",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/lee-reaffirms-push-to-retake-wartime-operational-control-of-troops",
        "published": "2026-08-18T02:02:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}