Lee Jae-myung · Full chronicle and history

On September 4, 2026, the White House reposted a CNBC report saying that South Korea is evaluating multiple options, including military assistance, to support the United States in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with no final decision yet made. The Lee Jae-myung government subsequently denied to reporters that the details had been settled, saying many matters remain undetermined.

Following Trump's order to scale back US-South Korea joint military exercises, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has publicly pushed once again to transfer the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the US military to South Korea, while urging accelerated acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, drawing external attention to the security trajectory of the Korean Peninsula.

In response to the non-cooperation of South Korea's Lee Jae-myung government on core interests such as the denuclearization of Iran, as well as its pro-communist tendencies, Trump instructed Secretary of War Hegseth to significantly cut the cost and scale of the ongoing US-South Korea joint military exercises.

While delivering a handover address at the APEC summit closing ceremony in Gyeongju, South Korea, Xi Jinping went off script and improvised, saying "I hope the beautiful butterfly flies to Shenzhen, and will even sing," triggering an awkward silence and scattered laughter throughout the hall, with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung also appearing confused and bewildered.