Seoul: South Korea and the United States are contemplating setting a timeline for the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul during their annual defense ministerial talks this year. The year 2028 is being considered as a likely target for this transition, according to a source familiar with the matter.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the move aligns with South Korea's goal to achieve a "conditions-based" handover of wartime command, currently held by the U.S., within President Lee Jae Myung's term, which concludes in 2030. The plan involves both nations completing the verification of Seoul's full operational capability (FOC), a critical step in the three-stage program assessing its ability to lead the allies' combined forces. This assessment will be reviewed by the defense chiefs during their annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
The year 2028 is seen as a feasible timeline for the transition, considering U.S. President Donald Trump's term ending in January 2029 and the delay in Seoul's OPCON bid due to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. A detailed timeline is expected following discussions at the SCM, which will advance to the third stage of verification, the full mission capability (FMC). This stage depends on a political assessment by both countries' leaders.
President Lee has emphasized self-reliant defense, supported by the new U.S. National Defense Strategy, which acknowledges South Korea's capability to take "primary" responsibility in deterring North Korea with "critical, but more limited" U.S. support. The allies had previously agreed to expedite the conditions for the OPCON transfer during last year's SCM.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back recently reiterated the commitment to the transition, describing it as a "mission" to be completed. South Korea initially handed operational control to the U.S.-led U.N. Command during the 1950-53 Korean War, which later transferred to the Combined Forces Command in 1978. South Korea resumed peacetime operational control in 1994.
Efforts to meet the transition conditions include South Korea's capability to lead combined forces, strike and air defense capabilities, and a suitable regional security environment. The two nations plan to conduct their annual Freedom Shield exercise next month to verify these conditions.