Page 207 - 2020 Defence White Paper

in the military domain between the two Koreas, the ROK and the US continue to
maintain a robust combined defense posture.
The two countries have continuously enhanced their combined operations plans
to prepare for contingencies in both wartime and peacetime, and are verifying
and supplementing the operation plans through ROK–US combined theater-level
command post exercises. In particular, ROK–US combined field maneuver training
exercises improve the execution capability and interoperability of combined
operations under the principle of "guaranteeing a balanced combined readiness
posture throughout the year".
The two countries are focusing on maintaining a combined defense posture for
responding to the dynamic changes on the Korean Peninsula, and at the same time
working closely to develop their comprehensive alliance capacity for responding
to common security threats. In particular, the ROK and the US are communicating
closely to make progress and achieve actual results in preparing for OPCON
transition to a Future CFC led by the ROK Armed Forces, and are periodically
assessing and evaluating the OPCON transition implementation status through the
annual SCM and MCM So that the ironclad combined defense posture is maintained Chapter 6
like it is today.
Meanwhile, the two countries agreed in 2018 to maintain the current ROK–US
combined forces command system even after wartime OPCON transition and to
firmly maintain the combined defense posture by maintaining the current level of
combinedness, operational efficiency, and readiness posture.
The ROK and the US are committed to maintaining a powerful combined

defense posture, and will be committed even after progress with the complete
denuclearization and peace policy of the Korean peninsula is made or the wartime
OPCON transition is completed. The two states will continue to maintain a
cooperative system by persistently developing interoperability between the two
states’ armed forces at all levels including policy, strategy, and tactics.

3. Ensuring a Stable Stationing Environment for the United States
Forces Korea (USFK)

United States Forces The USFK base relocation project is a project that
Korea Base Relocation consolidates and rearranges the USFK bases scatter-
ed across the country into two hub bases in Pyeong-
taek and Daegu to ensure a stable stationing environment for the USFK and the

Chapter 6. Developing a Robust ROK–US Alliance that is Mutually Complementary and Promoting Defense Exchanges and Cooperation 205