Allies should coordinate transition of OPCON
South Korea and the United States have revealed differences over Seoul's plan to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from its ally. Now, both sides need to engage in closer consultation to narrow their differences and ensure security and peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Taking back OPCON from the U.S. is crucial for the South to regain its “military sovereignty.” The country transferred operational control of its troops to the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korea War. Seoul managed to take back peacetime OPCON in 1994. But it has yet to retake wartime OPCON, although the 2003-08 liberal administration of Roh Moo-hyun agreed with the U.S. in 2007 for an OPCON transition by 2015.
The envisioned transition plan continued to be postponed under the conservative governments of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye due to the changing geopolitical and security situation. In 2017, President Moon Jae-in came up with a campaign promise to retake wartime OPCON by the end of his term if he was elected.
The issue came to the surface again on Jan. 21 when Defense Minister Suh Wook pledged to expedite efforts to recover wartime OPCON from the U.S. military. “We will seek active policy consultations in the early phase of the Biden government to have it pay more attention to the OPCON transition and create circumstances for the achievement,” he said. He vowed to make progress in this matter. He seems to be after an agreement with Washington on a timetable for the transition, given that it is difficult to make good on Moon's election pledge.
However, the new U.S. administration under President Joe Biden has virtually turned down Suh's move. On Thursday, Pentagon spokesman John Supple said that the planned transition will take place when all necessary conditions are met. He made it clear that a “conditions-based” transition is not only what has been agreed upon, but is also necessary to ensure peace and security.
Supple, of course, reaffirmed the consistent U.S. stance that the OPCON transfer is conditions-based and not time-based. Seoul and Washington already agreed on three conditions. First, South Korea should have the capability to lead the allies' combined defense mechanism. Second, it must have the capacity for an initial response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. Third, there should be a stable security environment on the peninsula and in the region.
Unfortunately, the South has so far failed to meet those conditions, mainly due to canceled or scaled-back combined military exercises with the U.S. amid denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2018 and 2019. The failure was also attributed to COVID-19 last year. The two countries are discussing how to conduct their annual springtime joint drill set for March, which is likely to be a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) without field drills because of the pandemic and the North's strong opposition.
In this situation, President Moon had better not rush to retake wartime OPCON by the end of his presidency in May 2022. His diplomacy and security team needs to hold close consultations with the Biden administration to iron out differences over key issues, including nuclear negotiations with the North. Most of all, Moon should work with Biden to strengthen the bilateral alliance.