South korea: South Korea's top general on Tuesday visited key Marine Corps and Navy units to inspect their participation in an ongoing major exercise with U.S. troops, his office said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung visited the Combined Marine Component Command and the Northwest Islands Defense Command. He urged troops to verify wartime plans during the Freedom Shield exercise as South Korea seeks to take back wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States.
Jin also visited the Navy's 2nd Fleet headquartered in Pyeongtaek, about 60 kilometers south of Seoul, where he emphasized that the joint exercise serves as an opportunity for the allies to demonstrate their capabilities. This was further confirmed by the JCS.
The allies' annual springtime exercise began its 11-day run on Monday, with this year's edition focusing on assessing conditions to achieve the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.
South Korea has been seeking a "conditions-based" transfer of wartime OPCON from the U.S. within President Lee Jae Myung's five-year term that ends in 2030.