Saadet Gokce
11 June 2026•Update: 11 June 2026
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said that Seoul's traditional reliance on the United States for defense is no longer "valid" and that the country will seek to become a partner capable of self-reliant defense.
"I believe such a dichotomous approach has lost its validity amid recent shifts in the geopolitical environment," Lee said in an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera published on Thursday, according to translated excerpts carried by Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency.
He was referring to South Korea's long-standing diplomatic formula of "security with the United States and economy with China."
Seoul will also work to expand economic cooperation with Washington as part of a new approach aimed at better serving the country's national interests, he said.
"Expanding our economic cooperation with the US to high-tech sectors will be an important factor that enhances our industrial competitiveness," Lee said, citing what he called growing competition between South Korean and Chinese firms due to the advancement of China's industrial and technological competitiveness.
However, Lee said the South Korea-US alliance remains "the basic axis" of South Korea's diplomacy, stressing that strengthening Seoul's autonomous capabilities is needed to modernize the alliance.
"Autonomous capabilities mean becoming a trustworthy partner that can take responsibility for its own defense without relying on an ally," he noted.
Lee added that Seoul's efforts to regain wartime operational control of South Korean forces from Washington are in line with the new approach and also align with the wishes of the US.
He said South Korea also intends to deepen cooperation with Europe in high-tech manufacturing and strategic supply chains.
Lee is on a visit to Italy until Tuesday.
South Korea is one of the US oldest and closest allies, hosting around 28,500 American soldiers on the Korean Peninsula under a mutual defense treaty between Washington and Seoul.
