[2026 Audit] Cho Hyun: "Summoned U.S. Ambassador Steel After Brunson Remarks to Convey Message... Will Convey It to U.S. Side Again"

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he summoned U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel to the Foreign Ministry shortly after U.S. Forces Korea Commander Xavier Brunson made remarks related to wartime operational control (OPCON), and conveyed his protest. Cho also said he would convey the message to the U.S. side again.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun answers questions from members of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee during a comprehensive audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification and other agencies on the 27th. Minister of Unification Jung Dongyoung is on the left. Yonhap News Agency.

At a comprehensive audit of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly on the morning of the 27th, Cho responded, “I fully agree,” after Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee Giheon said the government should issue a clear warning over Brunson’s remarks.

Cho continued, “Immediately after the remarks were made, I summoned Ambassador Steel to the Foreign Ministry and conveyed this message to her,” adding, “I intend to convey it to the U.S. side once again.”

Lee said, “There has never been a commander as arrogant and insolent as Brunson among his predecessors,” and urged the government to “clearly point out and warn him if it determines that Brunson’s remarks do not represent the official position of the U.S. White House, the State Department or the Department of War.”

Earlier, Brunson, who also serves as commander of the United Nations Command, said at a think tank seminar in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14 that, from the UN Command’s perspective, the Republic of Korea begins at the fence line south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Regarding the transfer of wartime operational control, Cho said, “I believe we should recover it from the United States as soon as possible,” adding, “There is no disagreement between South Korea and the United States.” He explained, however, that military authorities are discussing the timing of the transfer.

During questions in the afternoon, Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee Chair Song Seok-jun asked whether all the conditions for the transfer of wartime operational control agreed upon by South Korea and the United States in 2014 had been met. Cho replied, “Our military authorities believe they have been, and are pushing to recover wartime operational control.”

Song cited North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile capabilities and said efforts to meet the conditions for the transfer should come first to prevent a security vacuum. Cho responded, “A sovereign country should naturally have wartime operational control,” adding, “Taking ownership brings greater responsibility.”

In a subsequent round of questions, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Seong-jun urged the government to take an active role in recovering wartime operational control. Unification Minister Jung Dong-young replied, “I believe this is a matter of principle.” Jung said the Lee Myung-bak administration postponed the transfer and the Park Geun-hye administration shifted to a conditions-based approach, adding, “I believe we need to seriously reconsider the approach taken by the Roh Moo-hyun administration, which set a date for the transfer.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.