WASHINGTON — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said the basic conditions for transferring wartime operational control of South Korean forces have not changed, while adding that the threat environment is evolving faster than ever.
A senior U.S. official gave the response on the 20th to questions from South Korean media about the transfer of wartime operational control, known as OPCON. "Together we must be prepared to deter and defeat all regional threats to the alliance," the official said.
The basic conditions cited by the official appear to refer to the assessment criteria under the Conditions-based OPCON Transition Plan, or COTP, which the two countries drew up in 2015. The plan sets out three broad conditions for the transfer: the military capabilities South Korea needs to lead the combined defense, the alliance's comprehensive capacity to counter North Korean nuclear and missile threats, and a security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region conducive to a stable handover.
The official's reference to a threat environment evolving faster than ever appears to point to the rapid advance of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. The call for readiness to deter and defeat all regional threats is being read as a signal that Washington wants to proceed cautiously on an early transfer given those changing circumstances. The mention of regional threats can also be interpreted as taking China into account.
Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, also addressed the issue at a think tank seminar in Washington recently, citing North Korea's latest missile tests. "Conditions have changed, and because we changed our plans, we now have new standards we have to meet," he said.
A U.S. Defense Department official, responding to the same questions from South Korean media, said the transfer "remains a mutually agreed, conditions-based process" between the two countries, stressing that the conditions must be met. "Both countries remain committed to ensuring the conditions are met before any transition takes place," the official said, adding, "We will not prejudge the decisions or outcomes of this bilateral process."