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U.S. Forces Korea commander Paul Lacamera suggested that the plan to transfer wartime operational control between South Korea and the United States may be revised. It is also heard that the timing of the transition can be delayed, but the Ministry of National Defense nailed the issue of OPCON transfer as an agreement between the ROK and the United States.
Correspondent Kim A-young.
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Paul Lacamera, commander of the USFK and commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, attended a video conference held by the Korea-US Alliance Foundation and others, and said that he would coordinate and promote the OPCON transfer plan.
He added that while South Korea and the United States are working closely together according to existing plans, most plans are not going as they were the first time.
It was interpreted as a statement that the OPCON transfer plan could be modified depending on the situation around the Korean Peninsula, such as the North Korean nuclear program.
South Korea and the U.S. agreed to conduct a three-stage verification evaluation through joint exercises for OPCON transfer, but only the first stage evaluation has been made in the aftermath of COVID-19.
The government is in a position to speed up the transition as much as possible, such as nailing the transition point, but the view that it is premature in the US is also crossing over.
The Ministry of National Defense emphasized that the issue of OPCON transfer has already been agreed upon by the ROK and the United States, while avoiding a detailed evaluation of Commander Rucamera's remarks.
[Bu Seung-chan / Ministry of National Defense Spokesperson: Commander-in-Chief of the ROK and U.S. military, then it is a matter decided by the combined command system. (The ROK and the U.S. are now pursuing a conditional OPCON transition plan... .]
The SCM of the ROK-U.S. Security Council will be held in Seoul on the 2nd of next month, so the issue of OPCON transfer is expected to become a major issue between the ROK and US military authorities.