South Korea’s ‘Reborn’ Marines: From Peninsula Defense to Indo-Pacific Rapid Response
The Diplomat reports that South Korea’s December 2025 quasi-fourth-service reform restores marine operational control from the army and expands the ROKMC’s legal mission to include island defense and rapid-response operations. The shift could enable Seoul to convert a peninsula-focused elite force and deep USMC interoperability into a more active Indo-Pacific stability and crisis-response role.