Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s leading presidential candidate, on Sunday announced a set of policies on North Korea and national security, including an early recovery from the United States of wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces.
At a press conference in the National Assembly, Moon, candidate for the Democratic Party, said he and his government “will take back the wartime OPCON early” and enhance deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
“We will take charge of our defense ourselves by all intents and purposes,” Moon said.
The OPCON transfer, which was previously set for 2015, was deferred amid Pyongyang’s provocations. Seoul and Washington have agreed on the “conditions-based” transfer, which observers say could come sometime in the 2020 [Yonhap]
The OPCON transfer request by the Moon administration has always been a political goal and not a military one, so whether the ROK military is ready or not is mostly irrelevant:
Defense Minister Suh Wook and his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper attend a ceremony to lay flowers at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. / Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense
The latest ministerial defense talks between South Korea and the United States have highlighted that the allies are not on the same page on the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Seoul, and defense cost-sharing for American troops stationed here.
The disagreement occurred during the 52nd Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, where Defense Minister Suh Wook met with U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
South Korea is seeking to regain wartime OPCON of Korean troops from the U.S. by 2022, based on previous agreements that the transition will be made in accordance with the meeting of preconditions, without setting a deadline. To this end, the allies have been utilizing a three-phase verification process of initial operational capability (IOC), full operational capability (FOC) and full mission capability (FMC). However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they failed to fully assess the FOC this year.
“South Korea will make utmost efforts to meet the OPCON preconditions as early as possible and ensure that South Korea-led combined defense posture remains strong and seamless,” Suh said.
However, Esper stressed the need for South Korea to acquire the capabilities necessary to meet the requirements.
“Fully meeting all the conditions for the transition of operational control to a ROK commander will take time, but the process of doing so will strengthen our alliance,” Esper said.
The National Interest has an article that goes through the history of the US-ROK OPCON transfer which has long been chronicled here at the ROK Drop. The main point made at the end of the article is that the coronavirus has impacted the joint military exercises to validate the transfer. With Moon’s time in office running out a new President may relook the transfer if not complete:
These delays raise difficult questions about political timing, compounding present ambiguities in the ROK-U.S. security relationship. Moon’s term expires in the summer of 2022, leaving a relatively small window within which to complete the FOC and FMC—Moon is ineligible to run for reelection, and there is no firm guarantee that his successor will share the current administration’s strident vision of South Korean military independence. Nor is the situation entirely clear from Washington’s vantage point: if Donald Trump were to lose his reelection bid, it remains to be seen whether or not a Joe Biden administration would pursue a Korea policy conducive to further military disentanglement between the United States and South Korea.
It will be interesting to see if the Moon administration will possibly delay the turn over of OPCON responsibilities due to the scale down of joint military exercises:
Seoul is in a dilemma over annual military exercises with Washington, trying to balance diplomacy with Pyongyang while staying on track for the transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon).
President Moon Jae-in pledged since he took office in 2017 that the transfer of Opcon from Washington to Seoul should take place within his five-year term, and to carry this out, stable and regular joint military drills need to be conducted.
However, those combined military exercises don’t help denuclearization negotiations with Pyongyang. Major Seoul-Washington exercises have been postponed, suspended or scaled down for the sake of diplomacy with the North since early 2018.
Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense gave a briefing to Moon on Tuesday at the Gyeryongdae military complex in South Chungcheong on its comprehensive policy plan for this year.
So does anyone really think a ROK general is really going to command US forces during a conflict?:
South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, left, and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis hold up the Alliance Guiding Principles they signed at the Pentagon on Wednesday. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]Seoul and Washington signed a strategic guideline on Wednesday that paves the way for a Korean-led combined defense mechanism after the transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) from the United States.
South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis convened the 50th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Pentagon and signed the Alliance Guiding Principles to ensure a strong combined defense posture following the transfer.
The mutual guideline guarantees the continued stationing of U.S. troops in Korea and the retaining of the Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the United Nations Command after the transfer of Opcon from Washington to Seoul. It places a four-star Korean general as the head of the future CFC, with a U.S. general serving as deputy commander.
Washington further committed to a continued extension to Korea of its nuclear, conventional and missile defense deterrence capacities even after the transfer. This should quell some concerns in Seoul that the transfer of Opcon could lead to the withdrawal of some 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in Korea or the pulling back of American extended deterrence over the peninsula.
The two sides will work toward an initial operational capability (IOC) certification of a Korea-led combined defense posture next year. However, the specific timing of the Opcon transition will be determined later. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but this to me seems to be more of creating the impression to the Washington establishment that the Moon administration wants US forces to stay in Korea while using their surrogates to make life difficult for them. Look no further then the current THAAD site in South Korea.
Via a reader tip comes this news that presidential advisor Moon Jung-in has been speculating recently that if President Moon Jae-in asks US forces to leave Korea, they should leave:
Moon Jung-in, special adviser to President Moon Jae-in, speaks during a recent seminar hosted by the National Committee on North Korea in Washington, D.C. / Yonhap
Moon Jung-in, mentor to President Moon Jae-in on foreign and North Korea affairs, often previews Seoul’s policy.
Now under question is his remark in a seminar in Washington, D.C., to the effect that U.S. forces should leave Korea, if its president shows the door. The comment was made in the context of explaining the structure under which the U.S. has wartime control of ROK forces.
The U.S. is said to be resistant to changing the structure, which would make the U.S. general subordinate to the Korean general.
Some experts say the U.S. would rather leave Korea than have its troops under ROK command. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I would be surprised if the Pentagon signs on to any plan that allows a ROK general to command US forces. ROK generals do not have the experience to command the hi-tech weapons, logistics, communications, and command & control systems that the US military brings to a fight.
This is why in the past it has been reported that if an OPCON change happens the US command will be downgraded to a three-star general in charge of an military organization called KORCOM. ROK generals would take back control of all their forces during wartime, but would have no command authority over KORCOM. Instead KORCOM would support the ROK military as needed.
If President Moon wants US forces out of Korea without explicitly demanding it; requesting that KORCOM fall under the command of ROK general would be the way to do it.
The Moon administration had previously said that they wanted to take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of military forces in the early 2020’s. Now the defense minister is saying they want to speed up the change over:
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, right, shakes hands with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis.
Defense Minister Song Young-moo urged the military’s top brass on Tuesday to hasten preparations to take back Korea’s wartime operational control from the United States.
“The transfer is crucial to realize a reliable national defense suitable to Korea’s power and military capabilities,” Song said during a meeting at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “and to defend the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.”
He also urged the military to create a combined defense system with the United States under Korean leadership. The meeting was attended by about 200 senior officers of the Ministry of National Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army, Navy and Air Force as well as key operational units of the military.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it has focused on preparing a command structure that will be used after the transfer and that it has worked to improve the military’s capabilities so it can lead combined operations with the United States, which is one of the agreed-upon prerequisites for the transfer, in addition to a stable environment and an ability by Korea to counter North Korean nuclear and missile threats. To verify that these prerequisites have been met, one preliminary evaluation and three assessments are required, but the Ministry of National Defense presented a plan last week to speed up the transfer by skipping the preliminary evaluation, which is scheduled for 2019, and beginning immediately with the first assessment that same year.
Reporting to Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Friday, the ministry said it will update its plan and discuss it with the United States at the Security Consultative Meeting in October.
Song’s request echoes the sentiment of President Moon Jae-in, who has pushed for an early transfer since taking office in May. In his summit in July with U.S. President Donald Trump, Moon made an agreement with Trump to continue working to “expeditiously enable the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]
One of ROK President Moon’s top priorities after taking office was to push for the early transfer of OPCON to ROK forces. The US government has pretty much told him that if he wants it he can have it, but the US side of the command will be downgraded to a three-star general.
Like I have said before I will believe it when I see the OPCON transfer happen:
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo, right, shakes hands with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis before a joint press conference in Seoul Saturday. [YONHAP]The Moon Jae-in administration’s ambition to regain wartime operational control from the United States has hit a snag, as the latest security consultation by U.S. and Korean defense chiefs failed to approve a restructuring plan for the combined forces.
Defense Minister Song Young-moo and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis attended an annual Security Consultative Meeting on Saturday in Seoul, accompanied by top military officials. North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and other key issues concerning the Korea-U.S. alliance, were discussed.
Following the discussion, the 49th of its kind, a joint communique was issued. Song and Mattis also addressed reporters in a press conference.
According to the joint communique, Song and Mattis pledged to work together to implement an agreement made in June by Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump to “enable the expeditious conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control.”
But conspicuously missing from the communique was the much-anticipated approval of a plan for a new Combined Forces Command to oversee Korean and U.S. troops on the peninsula after the transfer. Song and Mattis were updated on the draft organization of the future Combined Forced Command and decided to continue to refine the draft through combined exercises and certifications, it said.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of National Defense told the National Assembly that the structure of a future combined forces would be discussed and approved at the Song-Mattis meeting. According to the draft, a Korean general would act as chief commander of the combined troops and an American general was to serve as deputy commander. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but the talk of an OPCON transfer has been going on for many years due to Korean governmental delay games. You can read more about the OPCON transfer at the below link:
One of ROK President Moon’s top priorities after taking office was to push for the early transfer of OPCON to ROK forces. The US government has pretty told him if he wants it he can have it, but the US side of the command will be downgraded to a three-star general:
Gen. Kim Byung-ju, deputy commander of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, answers a question during lawmakers’ audit of the defense ministry affairs on Oct. 12, 2017. (Yonhap)
The South Korean and U.S. militaries will soon formalize a plan to create a new combined command, which will become effective when Seoul regains its wartime operational control (OPCON) of the country’s troops, the Ministry of National Defense said Thursday.
The allies plan to approve the scheme in their annual Military Committee Meeting (MCM) and Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) later this month, it told lawmakers.
The MCM is an annual session involving the chairmen of the allies’ Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). This year’s meeting will be held in Seoul on Oct. 27, a day before the ministerial SCM.
“(The two sides) will authorize the creation of the future command of combined forces during the MCM and the SCM,” the ministry said in a report for a regular parliamentary audit of its affairs.
The allies will then draw up a specific scheme to establish a system to have a South Korean commander and a U.S. deputy commander, it added. (……..)
But the U.S. is reportedly negative about the idea of a four-star general serving as a South Korean commander’s deputy in the envisioned command. The Pentagon is expected to pick a three-star general for the position.
The left-leaning Moon Jae-in administration, which took office in May, has pushed for an early OPCON transfer.
It’s considering a three-stage road map: laying the groundwork for strengthening the country’s own defense capabilities, joint military drills organized by the future combined forces starting in 2019, and an actual OPCON transition in the early 2020s. [Yonhap via reader tip]
You an read more at the link, but I find it interesting that President Moon wants the OPCON so bad, but is willing to let it be pushed off until the early 2020’s when Moon will likely be out of office. There is enough time between now and then for this to once again be delayed by the ROK government.
As far as the structure of the US Forces under a three star general it appears that the old KORCOM template from nearly a decade ago will be used:
Oten said KORCOM will have “many similarities” to USFK, but eventually will become a supporting command after South Korea becomes responsible for wartime operational control of its troops on April 17, 2012. On that date, the Combined Forces Command, the joint warfighting command now led by a U.S. general, will dissolve.
In its place will be what USFK calls two complementary but separate commands — the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff, led by a South Korean general, and KORCOM. The CFC commander, Sharp, will remain responsible for leading forces until that time if war breaks out, USFK officials said. Both nations will retain control of their own troops during peace and wartime, but KORCOM will support the South Korean command during wartime, USFK officials said.
South Korea has had armistice control of its troops since 1994, but its forces would fall under the command of the CFC during a war.
Sharp said in recent speeches that KORCOM will reach full operational capability in 2011 and will become a supporting command to its South Korean counterpart the following year.
As part of the transition, the 8th Army will transform from an Army service component command into an “operational, warfighting headquarters” called field army, Sharp said Monday in a speech at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.
“This headquarters will have the ability to command and control U.S. and multinational corps-equivalent units in combat,” he said.
Maj. Jerry Pionk, 8th Army spokesman, who described an Army service component command as “basically a force provider to a theater commander,” said the transformation to a field army is ongoing and will continue for several years. A lieutenant general will continue to command the 8th Army after the change is complete, he said. [Stars & Stripes – April 13, 2010]
Considering how much can change between now and this “early” OPCON transfer I put this all in the category of I will believe it when I see it.
I believe this when I see it happen since the ROK has literally vowed to take over operational control from the US military for decades to only keep putting it off:
President Moon Jae-in salutes during the 69th Armed Forces Day parade in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Thursday.
He vowed to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance while beefing up domestic military capabilities in order for the country to command its own troops in the event of a conflict.
“My administration is pursuing the early takeover of wartime operational control,” he said. “The handover on the basis of our independent defense capabilities will ultimately lead to a remarkable advancement in the fundamentals and abilities of our military. When the South has wartime operation control, the North will fear us more, and the people will trust our armed forces more. With elevated self-esteem, our military will become stronger, and the Republic of Korea will emerge as a security hub in Northeast Asia. I am convinced that our military is equipped with such capabilities. The people and I have confidence in our armed forces.”
Recovery of wartime operational control of the Korean forces from the United States was a presidential pledge of Moon. During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, Seoul and Washington agreed that the transfer would take place in 2012, but the plan was delayed by the succeeding conservative presidents. Moon said he will complete it during his presidency, which ends in May 2022. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but I think this may have a real chance of happening this time since President Trump reportedly wants the same thing. Anyway this whole OPCON issue has historically had little to do with military strategy and more to do with being a reactionary response to Korean nationalism. I had reach way back in the archives, but ROK Heads can read how President Moon’s mentor former President Roh pushed this same issue from this 2005 posting.
