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Opcon transfer progress top of agenda for Seoul-Washington security meeting

Published: 27 Oct. 2025, 17:57 Updated: 27 Oct. 2025, 19:37

Then-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, second from left, meets with former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, third from right, in the 56th Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 30, 2024. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

South Korea and the United States will hold high-level defense talks in Seoul next week as the two allies seek to advance discussions on the transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) to the Korean military.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are set to meet on Nov. 4 for the 57th annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.

The talks come as the Lee Jae Myung administration pushes to complete the Opcon transition within the president’s term, a pledge it has made a key national policy goal.

This will be Ahn’s first meeting with Hegseth since taking office in July, and senior officials from both countries’ defense and foreign affairs ministries are expected to attend.

Established in 1968, the SCM alternates each year between Seoul and Washington. A Defense Ministry official said the allies plan to discuss “ways to develop the alliance into a future-oriented and mutually beneficial partnership” in response to shifting security dynamics.

The South Korean military aims to secure approval soon for the second-phase Full Operational Capability assessment of the future combined command under Korean leadership, paving the way for a clearer timeline on Opcon transition.

Yoon Bong-hee, acting director general for defense policy at Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, left, and John Noh, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of war for East Asia, attend the 27th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue as chief delegates in Seoul on Sept. 24. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

In September, Seoul and Washington held the 27th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue, a precursor to the SCM, at the Defense Ministry building in Yongsan District, central Seoul. During that meeting, Seoul officials outlined the government’s policy for completing the Opcon transfer within the current administration’s term.

Discussions also covered cooperation in defense industries such as ship maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), defense spending, and the strategic flexibility of U.S. Forces Korea. Those issues are expected to continue at the upcoming SCM.

The main agenda items include coordination on North Korea policy, the combined defense posture, extended deterrence, regional security cooperation, cybersecurity, space and missile cooperation, shipbuilding and MRO partnerships and defense science and technology collaboration, according to the ministry's press release.

At a parliamentary audit on Oct. 14, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lt. Gen. Jin Yong-sung said the South Korea-U.S. Military Committee Meeting (MCM) is “coordinating agenda items on the Opcon transfer and the strengthening of the alliance.”

The MCM typically precedes the SCM, raising expectations that the two meetings will be held consecutively in early November.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]