South Korea to entrust its military troops to the U.S. for wartime control for another decade
Currently, South Korea has peacetime OPCON of around 639,000 military personnel. However, in cases of war, it has been established that the Korean military will be taken over by a U.S. four-star general. Although the two countries agree that South Korea will eventually be able to take wartime OPCON over its own military in the future, they have delayed this transfer twice. The first time, the plan was delayed to 2015. South Korea asked to postpone it for a second time in 2013 when North Korea became more aggressive with its threats.
On October 23, it was decided at theSecurity Consultative Meetingconducted between the Defense Minister of South Korea and the U.S.,Han Min KooandChuck Hagelrespectively, that the wartime OPCON will be further delayed until sometime in 2020.
South Korea states that the reason behind the delay is that, as South Korea is not yet equipped to defend itself from possible North Korea attacks, it will need the U.S. to take control in cases of war.
According toYonhap News, the two nations reported, "The Republic of Korea (ROK) will assume wartime OPCON when critical ROK alliance military capabilities are secured and the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the region is conducive to a stable OPCON transition."