Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shake hands prior to the 57th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting at the defense ministry in Seoul, Nov. 4, 2025. Joint Press Corps

The top defense chiefs of Korea and the United States were set to hold talks in Washington on Monday, focusing on advancing the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul and Korea's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back will meet U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss follow-up steps on the OPCON transition and nuclear-powered submarines, in line with the agreements reached between the leaders and at high-level security talks last year, Seoul officials said.

The upcoming talks also come a day after Korea determined a strike by two unidentified flying objects was behind the May 4 explosion and fire on a Korean-operated cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The issue could be raised in Monday's talks.

Korea is seeking to retake wartime OPCON before the Lee Jae Myung government's five-year term ends in 2030, reportedly targeting 2028 for the transfer while U.S. President Donald Trump is in office.

However, signs of differing views between the allies have emerged after U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson told Congress last month that the two sides 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 on Jan. 20, 2029.

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

Under a three-phase framework, conditions for the transfer include Korea's capabilities to lead combined Korea-U.S. forces, its strike and air defense capabilities, and a regional security environment conducive to such a handover.

In last year's annual Security Consultative Meeting, Ahn and Hegseth agreed to develop a road map designed to expedite the implementation of conditions for the OPCON transfer and seek to certify the second part of the three-stage program.

Source: Korea Times News