U.S. Defense Secretary Visits South Korea to Discuss OPCON Transfer

The US Defense Secretary is in Korea to discuss the transfer of OPCON to South Korea:

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for annual security talks with his South Korean counterpart on the envisioned wartime operational control (OPCON) transfer, North Korean threats and the bilateral alliance.

Austin landed at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, for a three-day trip on the eve of the 53rd Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the defense ministry here.

This year’s SCM comes days after Washington concluded nine months of a global defense posture review, calling for tighter cooperation with allies to confront security challenges from an increasingly assertive China and a recalcitrant North Korea.

At the SCM, Seoul’s Defense Minister Suh Wook and Austin are expected to discuss when and how to conduct the full operational capability (FOC) assessment — the second part of a three-phase program designed to verify if South Korea is ready to retake wartime OPCON.

Yonhap

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