S. Korea, US review wartime OPCON transfer plan in defense talks

Acting Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Yoon Bong-hee, left, and John Noh, deputy U.S. assistant secretary of war for East Asia, shake hands during their defense talks in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of defense ministry. Yonhap

South Korea and the United States have reviewed progress in fulfilling conditions for a plan to transfer wartime operation command (OPCON) to Seoul from Washington in recent bilateral defense talks, a Seoul official said Wednesday.

The two sides discussed issues regarding their envisioned "conditions-based" OPCON transfer during the biannual Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) held in Seoul from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to officials.

It marked the first such meeting under the Lee Jae Myung government, which has vowed to reclaim OPCON under his five-year term and draw up a roadmap for the move. The previous meeting took place at the Pentagon in early May.

Following the review, both sides concurred that "significant" progress has been made in meeting the three key conditions set by the allies for the envisioned transfer.

They require Seoul to acquire the capabilities to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, and strengthen strike and air defense capabilities amid a regional security environment conducive to the handover.

South Korea handed over operational control of its forces to the U.S.-led U.N. Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. It was then transferred to the allies' Combined Forces Command when it was launched in 1978. While wartime operational control has remained in U.S. hands, South Korea retook peacetime OPCON in 1994.

The transition has long been a pending issue between the allies, with previous administrations either seeking to realize or temporarily postpone the OPCON transfer amid shifts in the security environment, notably North Korea's military threats.

South Korean troops take part in South Korea-U.S. combined drills at Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, Aug. 27. Yonhap

In the latest meeting led by acting Deputy Defense Minister for Policy Yoon Bong-hee and John Noh, deputy U.S. assistant secretary of war for East Asia, the two sides also discussed a wide range of alliance issues.

"Both sides evaluated overall defense cooperation aimed at modernizing the South Korea-U.S. alliance in a reciprocal and forward-looking manner amid a changing regional security environment and held in-depth discussions over alliance issues," the defense ministry said in a statement.

Also discussed were policy coordination on North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and maintaining a steadfast combined readiness posture to deter and respond to Pyongyang's threats, the Seoul official said.

In the meeting, South Korea underscored the need to expand arms industry cooperation, notably in the naval shipbuilding and the maintenance, repair and overhaul sectors, on which the U.S. also concurred, the official added.

The latest KIDD meeting came as the Pentagon has been working on its new National Defense Strategy and a global force posture review that could affect its defense policy toward South Korea and its management of around 28,500 American troops on the Korean Peninsula.

Launched in 2011, KIDD is a comprehensive senior-level defense meeting between the allies.