What did South Korea and the United States agree on in the Busan KIDD defense talks about wartime OPCON transfer?

They pledged to strengthen cooperation to accelerate the conditions-based wartime OPCON transition to Seoul. The joint statement said both sides reviewed progress on the plan and discussed modernizing the alliance in response to an evolving security environment.

S. Korea, US vow to strengthen cooperation to accelerate wartime OPCON transition in defense talks

Q: What conditions must be met for the wartime OPCON transfer between South Korea and the United States?

The allies have tied the handover to Korea’s ability to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, strong strike and air defense capabilities, and a regional security environment that supports the transfer. The plan has been in place since both sides agreed to it in October 2014.

Q: Who led the latest Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue, and what other cooperation did the two sides discuss?

The talks were led by Kim Hong-Cheol for Seoul and George LeMeur for Washington. Beyond OPCON, the two sides assessed follow-up defense cooperation measures and visited major defense industry sites to deepen cooperation in shipbuilding and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul.

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Summary

South Korea and the United States vowed in Busan to strengthen cooperation to speed up the wartime OPCON transfer to Seoul during the 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue. The allies said they reviewed modernization of the alliance and progress on the conditions-based transfer plan. Seoul and Washington also examined follow-up defense cooperation measures and visited defense industry sites together.

Key Facts

The 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue was held in Busan from Wednesday to Friday, Korea time.
South Korea and the United States agreed to keep working on the conditions-based wartime OPCON transfer plan, which they have pursued since October 2014.
The transfer conditions include Korea’s ability to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, its strike and air defense capabilities, and a regional security environment suitable for the handover.
The latest KIDD was led by Seoul Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Kim Hong-Cheol and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia George LeMeur.
The two sides also visited major defense industry sites and discussed shipbuilding and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul activities.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 19, 2026 9:10 am KST

Korean and U.S. officials hold senior-level defense talks, called the Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue, in Seoul, Sept. 18, 2023. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense

Korea and the United States pledged to reinforce cooperation to accelerate the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul from Washington during their senior-level defense talks this week, a joint statement said Friday.

The allies held the 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) in Korea's southeastern city of Busan from Wednesday to Friday (Korea time), as Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration seeks to retake wartime OPCON before the end of its term in 2030.

"Both sides evaluated the work to modernize the alliance in the face of an evolving security environment," they said in the statement.

"They also assessed progress on the Conditions-based Wartime Operational Control Transition Plan, and pledged to strengthen cooperation to accelerate the transition of wartime OPCON," they added.

Seoul and Washington have been working on the conditions-based OPCON transfer since they agreed on it in October 2014. The conditions include Korea's capabilities to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, its strike and air defense capabilities, and a regional security environment conducive to such a handover.

At the defense talks, the two sides also assessed the progress in implementing follow-up measures in the areas of defense cooperation within the joint fact sheet on bilateral security and other agreements, as well as the joint communique of last year's defense ministerial talks, called the Security Consultative Meeting, according to the statement.

Seoul and Washington released the joint fact sheet in November to outline a series of agreements from last year's summits between Korean President Lee and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The latest KIDD gathering was led by Seoul's Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Kim Hong-Cheol and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia George LeMeur.

Aside from the talks, the two sides visited major defense industry sites together to further bolster cooperation in areas of shipbuilding and aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities, enhancing mutual understanding on key defense issues, according to the statement.

"The two sides pledged to maintain close and continuous consultations on matters pertinent to the security of the ROK-U.S. Alliance going forward," they said.

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