US and South Korea to coordinate on wartime operational control transfer

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met in Cebu, Philippines, during the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) to discuss the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).

The two officials agreed to hold a defense ministerial meeting in Washington this December and convene the 58th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in early next year. This timeline is intended to provide a window for military and policy authorities to resolve differences regarding the conditions and timing for the OPCON transfer.

South Korean officials described this as a ‘two-step approach,’ using the December meeting to build consensus and the early next year SCM to reach a definitive decision. The US side has expressed a desire to make the upcoming SCM ‘definitive and decisive’ regarding key alliance issues.