South Korea accelerates military self-reliance over Trump’s ‘unpredictability’

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt move to scale back annual military drills with South Korea has handed President Lee Jae Myung a fresh impetus for greater defence self-reliance even as he seeks to maintain the long-standing alliance. Lee on Tuesday called for accelerated efforts to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces from the United States and build nuclear-powered submarines, casting both as part of a broader push to boost South Korea’s ability to defend...