Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The first evaluation meeting this year, supervised by Minister Suh Wook

Review and evaluation of the performance of the ROK-US alliance in securing responsiveness

Emphasis on military-wide cooperative efforts to accelerate the process

Key South Korean military officials including Defense Minister Suh Wook have agreed that the transition to wartime operational control (OPCON) should be promoted promptly based on a firm combined defense posture.

On the 5th, the Ministry of National Defense announced that the ‘evaluation meeting of the 21-1st OPCON transition’ was held in the Ministry’s main conference room under the supervision of Minister Suh. The meeting was attended by members of the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, major commanders and military chiefs of staff including JCS Chairperson Won In-choul, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the deputy commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command and the Commander of Marine Corps, minimizing the number of on-site attendees in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines.

The Ministry of National Defense organized this meeting to review and evaluate the performance of the transition of OPCON of the first half and to discuss the direction for the second half. At the meeting, the attendees reaffirmed the will of both the government and the military for OPCON transition, and also reviewed and evaluated the core military capabilities of the ROK soldiers and the ability of the ROK-US alliance to respond to North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

Attendees including Minister Suh agreed that what is needed is cooperation at the level of the entire military so that a “conditional OPCON transition” can be carried out in a timely manner while firmly maintaining the alliance’s combined defense posture.

Minister Suh stressed, “Promoting OPCON transition is a key national priority for the Korean government,” adding “We should systematically and actively promote OPCON transition tasks, recognizing that the transition is essential to achieve a ‘responsible national defense.’” He also urged attendees at the meeting to “make efforts to accelerate the OPCON transition through a wide range of consultations with key USFK officials, including Paul Lacamera, the newly appointed Commander of ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, based on the strong trust in the ROK-U.S. alliance.”

By Su-Yeol, Maeng <guns13@dema.mil.kr >

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