OPCON transfer unlikely during Trump's term, ex-US diplomat says
The transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States to South Korea is unlikely to happen during the remaining two years of the Trump administration because there is no consensus in Washington that conditions are met, former acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun said Tuesday, adding that the same applies to Seoul’s nuclear ambitions and its U.S. investment pledge.…
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Joseph Yun suggested that the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States to South Korea is unlikely to occur during the remaining two years of the Trump administration. Yun stated during the second Korea-U.S. Diplomatic Forum that a consensus in Washington is lacking regarding the readiness of conditions for such a transfer.
Yun, who also served as the State Department's special representative for North Korea policy, emphasized that there are "conditions" involved, and the transfer will never be "ready," but it remains an issue that cannot be resolved rapidly. Yun made these comments a week after the U.S. midterm elections, during which Democrats gained control of both the House and Senate, and amid ongoing disagreements between the two allies concerning the timing and conditions for the transfer. South Korea is eager to regain wartime operational control of its military.
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