Seoul: A presidential committee on Wednesday identified the transfer of wartime operational command (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul as a significant policy objective to be achieved within President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term, highlighting potential progress on this long-standing security issue.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the State Affairs Planning Committee unveiled a roadmap of policy tasks for the new government just 70 days after Lee took office without a transition period. This roadmap covers diverse areas, including defense reform and artificial intelligence technology. On the security front, the committee is committed to strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and broadening the country's diplomatic relations while working towards denuclearization and sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The committee also emphasized further development of South Korea's three-axis deterrence system and the creation of an elite force to counter North Korea's nuclear, missile, and cyber threats. A key component of the security strategy involves achieving the OPCON transfer within Lee's term. Historically, South Korea delegated operational control of its troops to the U.S.-led U.N. Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. This control was later transferred to the Combined Forces Command in 1978, with peacetime OPCON reverting to South Korea in 1994, though wartime OPCON remains under U.S. control.
Efforts to complete the OPCON transfer have faced delays due to shifts in the security environment, particularly North Korea's military threats. Initially scheduled for 2015, the transfer was postponed following a 2014 agreement between the allies to base the handover on specific conditions rather than a fixed timeline, in light of Pyongyang's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities.
The current conditions-based OPCON transfer involves South Korea demonstrating its ability to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, along with sufficient strike and air defense capabilities, and a favorable regional security environment for the handover. In a phased approach to verify these conditions, the allies completed the initial operational capability test in 2019 but have yet to finalize the full operational capability test, the second stage in the process. The full mission capability test constitutes the final phase of verification.
This recent announcement reaffirms President Lee's commitment to pursuing the OPCON transfer. However, with evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, potentially bolstered by its growing military cooperation with Russia, and shifting regional security dynamics, it remains to be seen whether the necessary conditions, including a favorable regional security environment, can be achieved by 2030.
During his parliamentary confirmation hearing last month, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back expressed understanding that President Lee aims for the OPCON handover to occur within his term. Nevertheless, the presidential office at the time described Ahn's statements as his "personal opinion as a minister nominee," emphasizing that setting a specific timeline is not currently under consideration.
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson stressed the importance of adhering to the mutually agreed-upon conditions for the OPCON transfer, cautioning against shortcuts that could compromise readiness. "The conditions were set for particular reasons," he stated, pointing out the importance of ensuring military readiness to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula.