Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The Ministry of National Defense assessed that the future Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command’s operational capability has been further improved through a rehearsal to test Republic of Korea‘s Initial Operational Capability (IOC) before the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) during the DongMaeng Exercise (Republic of Korea-U.S. combined exercise) last March. 

The ministry made the announcement on June 12th at the 1st meeting to access the envisioned wartime OPCON transfer, which was held at the main conference room of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the supervision of Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo. 

Some 200 main officials from the Ministry of National Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, military headquarters and operational commands, and units under the direct control of the Ministry of National Defense attended the meeting to practically check on and access the military’s performance for the OPCON transfer during the first half of this year, and to discuss the direction forward in the second half. 

Minister Jeong checked the current preparation status of all transitional tasks for the wartime OPCON transfer. “The OPCON transfer should be pushed forward systematically and actively by connecting it with the Defense Reform 2.0 project based on a robust Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance,” he said, stressing that the OPCON transfer is essential to enhancing the Republic of Korea’s position and realizing responsible defense. After confirming our military’s efforts to early secure key military capabilities, which led the government’s increase in the defense budget, Minister Jeong called for continuous efforts to improve our capabilities to lead combined operations, such as the improvement of the C4I and operational employment system by connecting it with the Defense Reform 2.0 project. He also assessed that the joint evaluation of our military’s key military capabilities, which is being carried out by the Republic of Korea-U.S. Special Permanent Military Committee (SPMC), will increase transparency and reliability between the two countries and serve to facilitate the OPCON transfer. 

Minister Jeong also reaffirmed military preparations for the IOC verification. After confirming that our military has made considerable progress in the selection of assessment tasks that were pushed forward in the first half to test IOC, form a joint verification team, and develop strategy documents, the Minister commented: “The recent decision on the future combined forces commander and the relocation of the combined command, which was agreed upon between Republic of Korea and the U.S., will secure preparations for the IOC verification and further strengthen the efficiency of combined operations between the two allies,” he said. “To show our military’s capabilities and trust to the people during the IOC verification, scheduled to be carried out in the upcoming combined exercise, we will prepare for it thoroughly by concentrating on capability by unit, function, and strategic and tactical level,” he added, calling on the military to strive to make full preparations to practically show our military’s passion and commitment to preparation for the OPCON transfer, as well as its expertise and capabilities for leading the combined operations.