South Korean Protection Minister Ahn Gyu-back (proper) speaks at a joint press briefing with US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth following the 57th Safety Consultative Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 4, 2025. (courtesy of the Ministry of Nationwide Protection)
The protection chiefs of South Korea and the US agreed to finish by 2026 the second stage of functionality verification for the switch of wartime operational management, or OPCON, over Korean troops to Seoul on Tuesday throughout the 57th Safety Consultative Assembly on the Ministry of Nationwide Protection headquarters within the Korean capital.
The association is anticipated to lend momentum to Korea’s push to regain OPCON for the primary time in years after the US had stalled the verification course of throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the initiative fell by the wayside throughout the administration of former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Protection Minister Ahn Gyu-back and US Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth mentioned South Korea’s plan to retake wartime operational management throughout President Lee Jae Myung’s time in workplace, deciding to wrap up the complete operational functionality (FOC) assessment, which is able to decide whether or not South Korea is able to operating the Future Mixed Forces Command, by 2026.
Beforehand, the 2 nations agreed to a conditions-based switch of wartime OPCON involving three phases of verification, beginning with the preliminary operational functionality (IOC) assessment, full operational functionality (FOC) assessment, and the complete mission functionality (FMC) assessment.
The 2 nations are at the moment within the FOC verification section.
President Lee Jae Myung additionally met with Hegseth on the presidential workplace in Yongsan.
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung mentioned throughout a briefing that Lee instructed Hegseth that recovering OPCON inside his time period will probably be an “vital step in deepening and creating the South Korea-US alliance a step additional.”
“If we massively bolster our capability and lead the protection of the Korean Peninsula, the US has much less to fret about concerning safety within the Indo-Pacific,” Lee reportedly added.
To this, Hegseth reportedly praised South Korea’s efforts to extend protection spending and to bolster its protection capability via the newest typical weapons and nuclear-powered submarines and vowed his help, whereas calling Korea a “mannequin ally.”
The 2 high protection officers apparently agreed to incorporate content material about nuclear-powered submarines of their joint assertion. Nonetheless, within the press convention following his assembly with Ahn, Hegseth was questioned about an association the place the US offers the nuclear gas whereas South Korea builds the submarines regionally. Hegseth responded that he couldn’t share any particulars concerning the approval course of, avoiding giving a direct reply.
“We stay up for partnering with much more, whether or not it’s floor warfare or submarines [. . .] So there’s going to be an excellent deal to be made, and I believe it’ll be mutually helpful to each nations,” he added, indicating that there are nonetheless variations of opinion between the US and South Korea.
The 2 sides agreed to proceed talks to work out the main points concerning the place the submarines will probably be constructed.
By Kwon Hyuk-chul, employees reporter; Search engine optimisation Younger-ji, employees reporter
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