SEOUL — South Korea’s Defence Ministry cautioned on Thursday that continually revising the requirements for transferring wartime operational control from the United States could render the long-delayed handover impossible, as Seoul and Washington appear to be diverging on the timeline for the transition.
“Speaking in a personal capacity, I think that if the goalposts keep moving, wartime operational control can never be transferred,” ministry spokesperson Jeong Bit-na told a regular news briefing.
Jeong stressed that the remark did not represent the ministry’s official position, which remains that Seoul and Washington are working closely under their mutually agreed conditions-based transition plan.
US Commander Cites Changed Security Environment
Her comments came a day after General Xavier Brunson, commander of US Forces Korea, said the security environment and operational plans had shifted since the allies established the transfer requirements.
“Because the conditions have changed, because we’ve changed our plan, we have new standards which we have to uphold,” Brunson said at an event hosted by the Gold Institute for International Strategy in Washington.
He pointed to North Korea’s recent missile launches as evidence of the evolving threat landscape, saying he supported the transition but opposed bypassing agreed requirements. Brunson also underscored the need to secure critical military capabilities before any handover.
Competing Timelines for the Handover
South Korean media have reported that Seoul favours 2028 as the target year for the transfer. Brunson, however, told a US congressional hearing in April that the US military had submitted a roadmap aimed at meeting the conditions by early 2029.
Some media outlets, citing military sources, have reported that Washington believes Seoul has not yet met the criteria for completing the Full Operational Capability verification — the second of three stages in the transition process.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has said he aims to complete the transfer, pursued by successive governments for decades, before his five-year term ends in 2030.
Decades in the Making
Seoul regained peacetime operational control in 1994, but command of allied forces during wartime remains with the US-led Combined Forces Command. The conditions-based plan is designed to ensure South Korean forces can assume wartime command while maintaining the readiness and capabilities required to deter and, if necessary, fight alongside their American counterparts.
The latest exchange highlights the delicate balance between Seoul’s political commitment to completing the transfer within a set timeframe and Washington’s insistence that the handover proceed only when the military conditions on the Korean Peninsula allow it.
