The Ministry of National Defense said on the 18th it will negotiate with the United States with the goal of securing, within two years, the fuel used to operate the reactor of a nuclear-powered submarine. On the transfer of wartime operational control, it also said it plans to complete verification of the second of the three phases by Nov. next year.
The Ministry of National Defense reported a plan to pursue the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine at a presidential policy briefing held at the ministry building in Yongsan on the 18th. It is expected that a separate agreement with the United States will be required to secure enriched uranium, the fuel for nuclear-powered submarines, because the existing South Korea-U.S. nuclear agreement is limited to peaceful purposes.
The Ministry of National Defense said a summit created a turning point for the nuclear-powered submarine project, a national strategic weapon, and reported it will present a "Korean-style nuclear-powered submarine master plan" within next year that includes Korea's principles related to nuclear-powered submarines, construction plans, and nonproliferation stance. It also said it plans to form a standing, pan-government project group to push the project as a national strategic program by rallying the entire government's capabilities beyond the ministry's single dimension.
Regarding the transfer of wartime operational control, the Ministry of National Defense set a goal of completing the full operational capability (FOC) verification of the future Combined Forces Command at the 58th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) to be held in Nov. next year, based on the agreements reached at the 57th SCM held last month.
Verification for the transfer of wartime operational control has three phases: ▲ initial operational capability (IOC) ▲ full operational capability (FOC) ▲ full mission capability (FMC). The FOC assessment has been completed and the verification process is underway; if FOC verification is completed within next year, it can move on to the final phase of full mission capability (FMC) assessment and verification.
Specifically, the Ministry of National Defense explained that it will begin consultations in Jan. with the South Korea-U.S. authorities to draft a roadmap related to the transfer of wartime operational control and complete it in Apr., and from Mar.–Aug. will pursue joint evaluations through combined South Korea-U.S. exercises and the FMC evaluation of the Combined Special Operations Command.