The defense ministries of South Korea and the United States have agreed that there has been significant progress in meeting the conditions required for the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON), following a review of the current status of the OPCON transition plan.
According to the Ministry of National Defense on September 24, the two defense ministries reached this consensus during the 27th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) held in Seoul from September 23 to 24.
President Lee Jaemyung has previously set the completion of the OPCON transition during his term as a key national policy objective. In November 2006, under the administration of Roh Moo-hyun, South Korea and the United States agreed to transfer OPCON by April 2012. However, during the Lee Myung-bak administration, the transition was postponed to December 2015. Under the Park Geun-hye administration, the two countries agreed that the transition would occur once the necessary conditions were met, without setting a specific timeline.
The three conditions for OPCON transition, agreed upon by South Korea and the United States in 2014, are: ▲ the military capabilities required to lead the combined defense; ▲ the alliance's comprehensive ability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats; and ▲ a security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region that is conducive to a stable OPCON transition.
This KIDD meeting was attended by Yoon Bonghee, Acting Director General for Defense Policy at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense, and John No, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia at the U.S. Department of Defense, as chief representatives from both sides. Other key officials from both countries' defense and foreign affairs sectors were also present.
During the meeting, both sides assessed overall defense cooperation aimed at modernizing the South Korea-U.S. alliance in a mutually beneficial and future-oriented manner in response to the evolving regional security environment. They also held in-depth discussions on alliance issues. In addition, they agreed to continue cooperation on implementing follow-up defense measures discussed at last month's South Korea-U.S. summit.
The KIDD meeting is a high-level dialogue launched in 2011 to ensure timely and effective security consultations between South Korea and the United States. It is held one or two times a year, alternating between the two countries. This meeting was the first since the launch of the Lee Jaemyung administration and took place about four months after the 26th meeting in May.
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