Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shake hands after a joint press conference following the 57th South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, Nov. 4, 2025. Joint Press Corps

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back will visit the United States next week for talks with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the defense ministry said Saturday, as the allies seek to discuss a host of pending issues, including the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).

Ahn will make a five-day trip to Washington starting Sunday and plans to hold talks with his American counterpart on Monday (U.S. time), the ministry said. It will be Ahn's first visit to the U.S. as defense minister.

His visit comes as South Korea is seeking to retake wartime command of its troops from the U.S. and pushing to build nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. support.

President Lee Jae Myung's government, which has championed "self-reliant" defense, aims to reclaim the wartime OPCON before its five-year term ends in 2030. It is reportedly targeting 2028 for the transition, while President Donald Trump's administration is still in office.

But signs of a difference in views emerged after U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson told Congress last month that the two countries seek to meet conditions required for the transfer no later than the first quarter of 2029. His proposed timeline suggests the OPCON transfer may not be ready even after Trump's term ends Jan. 20, 2029.

Ahn is likely to discuss these issues with Hegseth and underscore efforts to advance the transition.

South Korea handed over operational control of its forces to the U.S.-led United Nations Command during the 1950-53 Korean War. It retook peacetime OPCON in 1994, but wartime operational command still remains in the U.S.' hands.

The OPCON transfer is also among the key agenda items for their high-level defense dialogue set to take place in Washington next week following the ministerial talks.

Also high on the agenda for the top defense chiefs will likely be South Korea's push to build nuclear-powered submarines amid little progress since Trump gave the green light to the move during his summit talks with President Lee in October last year.

Source: Korea Times News