'S. Korea should have control of US troops before OPCON transfer'

Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, along with military commanders, salutes the national flag at the start of their meeting at the ministry building in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

The South Korean military should develop its capabilities in order to be able to oversee U.S. troops before Seoul takes over wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Wednesday.

“We should be capable of taking control of U.S. troops here because we are going to regain OPCON from the U.S.,” he said in a year-end meeting with commanders.

“We can only take operational control of U.S. troops when we are fully aware of not just the operational plans for battles on land, sea and in the air, but also the weapon systems used by the U.S. military.”

President Moon Jae-in's administration is pushing for the OPCON transfer before his term ends in 2022.

The defense chief also underlined that all procedures regarding the OPCON transfer will be taken under close consultation with the U.S.

This marks the first time that Jeong, who took office as defense minister in September, has presided over a leadership meeting with chiefs from the nation's armed forces. A group of 160 ranking military officers, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki, took part.

The defense chief went on to underline the need for the military to continue tightening combat readiness next year despite the peace overtures by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“The nation's armed forces should fulfill their major roles and missions even at a time when the two Koreas are easing military tension and building trust with each other,” Jeong said.

He urged military commanders to do their best to support the government's ongoing security drive with strong “national defense power.”

“The two core pillars for the government's security drive are peace and a strong defense capability,” he said. “We need to back up the policy drive through our strong defense power.”

Starting this year, the two Koreas have seen rapid reconciliation, with both sides taking steps to ease tension in border areas and holding a series of summits between President Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

During their third meeting, Kim pledged his regime would end its nuclear development to completely denuclearize the peninsula.

Since a historic Pyongyang summit in September, the two Koreas have made rapid progress in tension-easing particularly along their land border. During the summit, both sides reached a comprehensive military agreement under which they took concrete steps to disarm the border region by withdrawing firearms in the Joint Security Area.