Minister Ahn Gyu-baek of the Ministry of National Defense said on the 10th, ahead of a trip to the United States to discuss the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), that he thinks there is no problem with speeding up the OPCON transfer.
The Minister stated accordingly at Incheon International Airport before departure that officials of Korea and the United States made considerable progress in 2015 under a conditions-based agreement on OPCON transfer.
Korean and U.S. authorities agreed on a "conditions-based OPCON transfer plan" at the 47th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in 2015. It is interpreted to mean that speed can be increased because OPCON transfer has been prepared in a systematic and consistent manner for a long time.
According to the Ministry of National Defense, the Minister will discuss security issues between Korea and the United States in the United States through the 14th, including OPCON transfer and construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. He is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of the Navy, and the chair and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.
In particular, the meeting with Secretary Hegseth will be held on the 11th U.S. time, and attention is on whether a consensus will be formed between the Korean and U.S. defense chiefs on OPCON transfer. The Minister noted that Korea and the United States agreed at the 57th SCM last year to finalize the target year for OPCON transfer at the SCM at the end of this year, calling it one of the main agenda items of this U.S. trip.
The Korean government is pushing a schedule to complete the second-phase verification this year and to complete the final transfer by 2028. Korea and the United States are discussing a conditions-based OPCON transfer promotion plan consisting of three stages: initial operational capability (IOC), full operational capability (FOC), and full mission capability (FMC).
However, there is a difference in positions between the Korean government and the United States. Earlier, U.S. Forces Korea Commander Xavier Brunson told the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that he would submit a roadmap for OPCON transfer in the second quarter of fiscal year 2029 (the first quarter by Korea's count).
Regarding the project to introduce a nuclear-powered submarine, the Minister said that since the two countries' leaders agreed on the grand premise, it is very important to implement follow-up measures, adding that if the U.S. side provides some fuel support, he thinks there will be no major problem in proceeding with the process such as construction. He went on to say that the first round of negotiations could begin in the first half.