S. Korea moves cautiously on regaining wartime command over military

Lee Han-joo, chairperson of the State Affairs Planning Committee, speaks during a press briefing at a cafe in Jongno District, Seoul, Sunday. From left are committee spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae, Lee and policy division head Park Hong-keun. Yonhap

The South Korean government said it is reassessing the conditions for reclaiming wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the U.S., noting that the timeline for the handover will hinge on future developments. While the transfer remains a central pledge of President Lee Jae Myung, officials acknowledged that no new talks are currently underway, and coordination with Washington is expected to continue.

During a press briefing Sunday, the State Affairs Planning Committee announced that the administration is currently evaluating whether the conditions necessary for the transfer have been met.

“The agreement states that the transfer should take place once certain benchmarks have been met. This government is now evaluating those benchmarks,” said Jo Seoung-lae, the committee’s spokesperson. “We will decide on the pace based on our assessment. This is the position of not only the committee, but also the presidential office and the Ministry of National Defense,” he added.

Reiterating the administration’s intention to pursue the transfer, the committee’s chairperson Lee Han-joo noted that the issue had been actively discussed and would be reflected in the new administration’s policy implementation plan.

An official at the defense ministry also clarified that the OPCON issue is not tied to any ongoing trade or other negotiations. “This is not a new item on the agenda. It’s part of our long-standing policy commitments,” the official said. “We are maintaining coordination with our U.S. counterparts, as we have for many years.”

The national flags of Korea and the United States are displayed side by side during a rotation ceremony for U.S. Forces Korea at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, June 18. Yonhap

Wartime control of South Korean forces was handed to the U.S.-led U.N. Command during the Korean War and has yet to return. While Seoul regained peacetime control in 1994, efforts to reclaim wartime authority have faced repeated delays.

Korea first moved to reclaim wartime operational control in August 2006, during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. A month later, Seoul and Washington agreed on basic principles and set April 17, 2012, as the target date. That year, the two sides also drafted a strategic transition plan to guide the handover.

However, growing opposition from conservative parties and heightened security concerns following North Korean military provocations resulted in a delay. In June 2010, the Lee Myung-bak administration and then-U.S. President Barack Obama agreed to postpone the transfer to December 2015.

Under the Park Geun-hye administration, the timeline was reassessed. In April 2014, Seoul and Washington agreed to review the timing and conditions for the transition. Six months later, the two countries' defense ministers decided against setting a fixed date, instead adopting a conditions-based approach to determine readiness.

This approach was reaffirmed under the Moon Jae-in administration. In June 2017, the two leaders pledged to accelerate preparations for conditions-based OPCON transfer. The following year, in October 2018, defense officials from both countries endorsed an updated transition plan and new joint defense guidelines for the post-transfer era.

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed language in the fiscal 2026 defense bill that would bar any OPCON transfer or troop reduction in South Korea unless the U.S. defense secretary certifies it serves America's national interests. The assessment would also need backing from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the U.S. Forces Korea commander and the Indo-Pacific commander.

Similar language appeared in the National Defense Authorization Act from 2019 to 2021. The committee revived the clause this year on a 26–1 vote, sending it to negotiations with the House before it can become law.