Seoul: The United States "very much" supports South Korea doing more to lead conventional defense against North Korea, a senior U.S. defense official stated, as the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung aims to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington during its current term.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the official made these remarks during a press briefing as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back are set to discuss OPCON transition efforts. This discussion is scheduled for the two countries' annual defense ministerial talks, known as the Security Consultative Meeting, in Seoul on November 4.
"We very much support the ROK doing more to lead its conventional defense in deterrence against the DPRK. We support those efforts," the official mentioned during the briefing to the press traveling with Hegseth on his trip through Asia, which includes visits to Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and South Korea.
ROK and DPRK stand for the official names of South Korea and North Korea, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, respectively. The official noted that Seoul and Washington have had "extensive" discussions on how South Korea can assume the "primary" responsibility for the alliance's conventional defense against North Korea.
"We understand that taking wartime OPCON is a priority of President Lee, and Secretary Hegseth very much looks forward to discussing this issue with Minister Ahn at the SCM," the official added.
When questioned about potential U.S. troop reductions in South Korea, the official indicated that the Pentagon currently has no announcements regarding changes to the force posture in South Korea.
Seoul and Washington have been collaborating on a conditions-based OPCON transition. South Korea relinquished operational control over its troops during the 1950-53 Korean War. In 1994, it regained peacetime OPCON, but wartime OPCON remains under U.S. control.