FILE PHOTO: This handout photo taken on November 4, 2025 and provided by the South Korean Defence Ministry shows US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth (L) shaking hands with South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back (R) during the 57th Security Consultative Meeting at the Defence Ministry in Seoul. - South Korean Defence Ministry/AFP
SEOUL: South Korea and the United States will move ahead next year with the second-phase assessment of Seoul’s readiness to take over wartime operational control, Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Friday (Nov 14).
The allies set out their agreement in the joint communique from the 57th Security Consultative Meeting, held in Seoul on Nov. 4 during US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s visit to South Korea.
Although the SCM communique is typically released immediately after the meeting, its publication was delayed and came on the same day the allies issued a separate fact sheet detailing security and tariff agreements from President Lee Jae Myung’s Oct. 29 summit with US President Donald Trump in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
Ahn explained that the allies agreed to carry out the Full Operational Capability evaluation — the second of the three verification stages required for the OPCON transition — in 2026.
“South Korea and the United States agreed to accelerate efforts under the conditions-based OPCON transition plan by advancing the road map,” Ahn said during a solo press briefing on the SCM communique.
“The two sides will push for the FOC assessment of the Future Combined Forces Command next year, with further working-level consultations to follow.”
The Future Combined Forces Command is a planned wartime headquarters that will be led by a South Korean four-star general and assume operational control from the current US-led Combined Forces Command once the transition is completed.
Wartime operational control has remained under the US-led Combined Forces Command since the 1950-53 Korean War.
The allies adopted a conditions-based transition framework in 2014, requiring Seoul to complete three stages: Initial Operational Capability, which was verified in 2019; FOC, planned for 2026; and Full Mission Capability, the final stage before the handover.
The transition has been one of President Lee’s key campaign pledges.
According to senior Defence Ministry officials, the move reflects a shared assessment that South Korea has made meaningful progress in strengthening the command, intelligence and combined operations capabilities needed for the transition.
Another notable outcome of the SCM meeting was the decision to conduct maintenance, repair and overhaul work on a US naval vessel in South Korea for the first time.
However, an official at the Korean Defence Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that specific locations and timelines “have yet to be discussed.”
According to the communique, the allies shared a joint assessment of growing threats from North Korea, highlighting the regime’s enhanced nuclear and missile capabilities backed by military cooperation with Russia.
The meeting also discussed expanding cooperation in space and cyber domains, and reaffirmed the importance of trilateral security coordination with Japan to bolster regional stability. - The Korea Herald/ANN
