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| 2026-05-28 10:07:09
(LEAD) USFK-OPCON transition
(LEAD) S. Korea denies report on possible dissolution of allies' combined command after OPCON transfer
(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; UPDATES story with S. Korean defense ministry's comments; ADDS byline; CHANGES dateline)
By Song Sang-ho and Kim Seung-yeon
WASHINGTON/SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will maintain their existing combined command structure after Seoul retakes wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington, the South's defense ministry said Thursday, dismissing a report suggesting the command could be disbanded after the transfer.
The Chosun Ilbo daily reported that the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has told Seoul that should the OPCON transition proceed without fully satisfying military requirements for the transfer, it would be difficult for U.S. troops to fall under a South Korean general's operational control.
The article suggested it could signal a possible disbandment of the allies' current Combined Forces Command structure.
"South Korea and the U.S. will retain the current Combined Forces Command structure after the OPCON transfer to maintain a robust combined defense posture," the ministry said in a media note.
The ministry cited the agreement reached between the allies in 2018 to establish a "Future Combined Forces Command," similar to the current combined command system, after the OPCON transition is complete.
"The USFK has never made any proposal to our military on altering the existing arrangement," it added.
The newspaper said the USFK delivered concerns over Seoul rushing with the OPCON transition to U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby when he visited Seoul in January, and also to the South Korean side later.
The USFK told South Korean authorities that such a rush would make it difficult for American troops to come under South Korean operational control within the allies' current combined command construct, according to the report.
The ministry voiced "strong" regret over the report that it said could undermine the bilateral alliance.
The USFK reiterated its position when asked for comments on the article.
"The U.S.-ROK alliance is committed to a conditions-based transition of wartime operational control, and that commitment is unchanged," the official told Yonhap News Agency. ROK is short for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"Our focus remains on strengthening the combined defense and ensuring the defense of the Republic of Korea and the U.S. homelands."
The official did not offer any direct response to Yonhap News Agency's request to confirm the report.
The administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has been pushing to retake wartime OPCON within its five-year term that ends in 2030.
A source in Seoul has said the Seoul government believes Seoul and Washington could meet the conditions required for the OPCON transition as early as next year.
However, USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing last month that the two allies aim to meet the conditions by no later than the first quarter of 2029, a remark that indicated a gap between the countries over the timing of the transfer.
The allies have been working on the conditions-based OPCON transition since they agreed on it in October 2014. The conditions include South Korea's capabilities to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, its strike and air defense capabilities, and a regional security environment conducive to such a handover.
South Korea handed over operational control of its troops to the U.S.-led U.N. Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. It was then transferred to the allies' Combined Forces Command when the command was launched in 1978.
Seoul retook peacetime OPCON in 1994, but wartime OPCON still remains in the U.S.' hands.
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