Seoul, April 23 (IANS) A timeline for the handover of wartime operational control (OPCON) to South Korea from the United States will be set in this year’s annual ministerial meeting and proposed to the leaders of the two countries, Seoul’s defence ministry said on Thursday.
The remarks by a ministry official came after US Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said the allies aim to meet conditions required for the envisioned OPCON transfer no later than the first quarter of 2029.
“Based on suggestions by South Korean and US military authorities, the defence ministers will make a decision in the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) and propose it to the presidents of the two countries,” ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said in a regular briefing when asked about Brunson’s remarks.
The SCM is an annual defence ministerial meeting that takes place every autumn in either Seoul or Washington, reports Yonhap news agency.
Noting that Seoul and Washington are pushing for the transfer in a “systemic, stable and consistent” manner, Chung said the defence ministry is seeking to promptly complete the transfer and is strengthening cooperation with the US side.
But the official did not specify the timing of the handover, though there was speculation that Seoul was seeking a transfer in 2028, a timeline that differs from the year the USFK commander mentioned.
South Korea has been seeking to achieve the “conditions-based” handover of wartime command from the US within President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term that ends in 2030.
South Korea handed over operational control of its troops to the US-led UN Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. It was then transferred to the two allies’ Combined Forces Command when the command was launched in 1978. South Korea retook only peacetime operational control in 1994.
The allies have been working to meet the conditions for the envisioned transition, which include South Korea’s capabilities to lead combined Korea-US forces, its strike and air defence capabilities, and a regional security environment conducive to such a handover.
Should the transfer occur, a four-star South Korean general will lead the allies’ combined forces in wartime, with a four-star US general playing a supporting role.
–IANS
sd/
