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South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Sunday that Seoul and Washington have made “significant progress” on the transfer of wartime operational control, known as OPCON, and that the allies face “no major issues,” according to media reports.
Ahn made the remarks before leaving for Washington, where he is expected to hold talks Monday with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Seoul is seeking to retake wartime command of its troops from Washington before President Lee Jae Myung’s five-year term ends in 2030, Yonhap News reported.
Ahn said South Korean and U.S. officials had made significant progress in 2015 on the wartime OPCON transfer under a conditions-based agreement.
“South Korean and U.S. officials made significant progress in 2015 regarding the wartime OPCON transfer under a conditions-based agreement,” Ahn told reporters.
He said the two sides had been preparing for the transition in a “systematic, stable and consistent manner.”
“And because those preparations have continued steadily, I do not believe there is any major issue with accelerating the OPCON transition,” Ahn said.
Ahn’s remarks came amid signs of differences between the allies over the timing of the transition.
Seoul is reportedly targeting 2028 for the transfer, while the Trump administration is still in office.
However, the transition may not be ready even after Trump’s term ends on Jan. 20, 2029, as U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson told Congress last month that the two countries seek to meet the required conditions for the transfer no later than the first quarter of 2029.
Ahn said setting the target year for the wartime OPCON transfer would be among the key agenda items in his talks with Hegseth.
At last year’s annual consultative meeting between the defense chiefs, the two sides agreed to finalize the second phase of the road map for the wartime OPCON transfer and to determine a target year for the transition at their next meeting.
Ahn also said negotiations between South Korea and the U.S. on Seoul’s push for nuclear-powered submarines could begin before the end of the first half of 2026.
“South Korea has significant submarine-related capabilities, so if the U.S. provides some level of support on the fuel side, I don’t believe there would be major difficulties in moving forward with the process,” Ahn said.
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