USFK commander reaffirms commitment to 'conditions-based' OPCON transfer
U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson delivers a keynote speech during the Combined Warfighting Forum, hosted by the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, at the Defense Convention in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
The top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) reaffirmed Wednesday the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul must be strictly based on their agreed-upon "conditions-based" framework.
USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson made the remarks during a defense forum, highlighting that ongoing discussions on the OPCON transition are central to the allies' "future milestones."
"The ROK-U.S. alliance remains a cornerstone of peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the Pacific," Brunson said at the Combined Warfighting Forum, hosted by the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC), referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
"As we advance toward our future milestones, ensuring that our OPCON transition remains firmly conditions-based, driven by robust ROK-led capabilities in a secure regional environment, our willingness to innovate, adapt and act outside our comfort zone will be our ultimate shield," he said.
The "conditions-based" OPCON transition refers to a plan Seoul has agreed to to regain wartime OPCON from Washington, under which South Korea must lead the future combined command and secure key strike capabilities to counter North Korea's threats, while the regional security environment should be conducive to the OPCON handover.
Seoul is pushing to retake wartime OPCON from Washington before the Lee Jae Myung administration's five-year term ends in 2030, or even as early as next year.
But the allies have shown a possible gap over the transition timeline, with Brunson having stressed that political expediency should not override military readiness in the OPCON transition process.
Wednesday's remarks by the USFK commander are seen as reinforcing his position on the issue.
Brunson made the point as he stressed the need for combined joint all-domain operations (CJADO), a U.S. military concept to synchronize combat capabilities across land, air, sea, space and cyberspace into a single, networked force with allies like South Korea.
To advance the implementation of CJADO, Brunson called for accepting the "uncomfortable truth," and breaking away from the silos-oriented warfare structure and taking tangible steps to adapt to the changing modern warfare.
"We must transition from theorizing about the future to absolutely implementing combined joint all-domain operations for CJADO and how the ROK-U.S. alliance fights today, tomorrow and, if necessary, how we would fight tonight," he said.
"All domain convergence requires us to push aggressively and unapologetically ... We cannot master these frontiers from inside our institutional comfort zones. Breaking out of these silos means accepting structural discomfort," he said.
The focal point of CJADO is interoperability, which is not an abstract concept, but an "immediate warfighting requirement," Brunson noted.
"We no longer have the luxury of time," he said. "Interoperability must be demonstrated today through real-time data sharing, synchronized sensor-to-shooter links, and combined command and control architectures that function flawlessly under fire."
To integrate force capabilities with international allies, how to create a combined network for information sharing and decision-making is regarded as key to the CJADO implementation.
"Achieving this requires us to embrace collaborative friction, and that will be our true sign of progress," Brunson said. "We must stress-test our networks, our software and our tactical protocols in peacetime environments that deliberately replicate the chaos of modern combat."