Korea, US agree on temporary combined forces structure after OPCON transfer
Summary
Korea and the United States agreed on a provisional structure for the Combined Forces Command after wartime OPCON transfer. The structure will be finalized during the Full Mission Capability assessment. The command will retain its official English name, Combined Forces Command, and will be established and maintained after the transfer.
Key Facts
- The defense ministry aims to complete Full Operational Capability verification at this year’s Security Consultative Meeting and identify a target year for the OPCON transfer.
- The Full Mission Capability assessment and verification will follow the Full Operational Capability stage.
- Kim Seong-min, deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, described the agreed post-transition structure as a draft.
- The post-transition command is sometimes called the future CFC in Korean to distinguish it from the current structure.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, left, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, talks with Kim Seong-min, deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, during a ceremony marking the handover from outgoing Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to his successor, Kang Shin-chul, at the defense ministry in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sept. 22. Yonhap
Korea and the United States have agreed on a provisional structure for the Combined Forces Command (CFC) after the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), the CFC's deputy commander said Wednesday.
Kim Seong-min, deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. CFC, told a parliamentary audit that the structure would be finalized during the Full Mission Capability (FMC) assessment, a stage in the process of transferring wartime OPCON from the U.S. to Korea.
“We have agreed on a provisional structure for the post-transition CFC, and it will be finalized during the FMC assessment,” Kim said.
The command will retain its official English name, Combined Forces Command. In Korean, it is sometimes referred to as the “future CFC” to distinguish the post-transition structure from the current one.
Kim was responding to a question posed by Rep. Han Ki-ho of the main opposition People Power Party, who asked whether the U.S. had agreed to Korea’s proposed structure.
“That is not the case,” Kim said, citing the provisional agreement. Asked whether the structure remained unconfirmed, he acknowledged that it was “a draft.”
The defense ministry aims to complete Full Operational Capability (FOC) verification at this year’s Security Consultative Meeting and identify a target year for the transfer to recommend. The FMC assessment and verification would follow the FOC stage.
Kim also rejected Han’s suggestion that remarks by the CFC commander implied the command could be dissolved after the transfer.
“That is not the case,” he said. “Under the existing agreement between Korea and the United States, the post-transition CFC will be established and maintained after the transfer of wartime OPCON.”
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