Markus Garlauskas, the director of the Indo-Pacific Security Initiative, speaks during a presentation, Thursday. Yonhap
South Korea and the United States have agreed to deepen cooperation to achieve "shared security goals," the defense ministry said Thursday, amid the allies' apparent different views over the timeline of Seoul retaking wartime command from Washington.
Both sides reached the understanding following the two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) in Washington on Wednesday (U.S. time), according to the ministry.
The meeting came as the allies appear to show different perspectives over when South Korea will retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S., a key defense goal under the Lee Jae Myung administration.
At the meeting, the allies assessed the overall defense cooperation and exchanged views on ways to enhance a combined defense posture, according to a joint statement released by the Pentagon.
Assessing the KIDD as laying a foundation for "practical cooperation" to solidify the decadeslong alliance, both sides "looked forward to further deepening cooperation to achieve shared security goals on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific region," it noted.
The two sides also agreed to "actively" seek cooperation to implement defense-related commitments listed in a joint summit agreement document adopted last year, it said.
Leading the meeting were Kim Hong-cheol, deputy defense minister for policy, and John Noh, U.S. assistant secretary of war for Indo-Pacific security affairs.
The KIDD meeting serves as a key platform for OPCON transfer talks, but discussions about the OPCON transition were not included in the joint statement.
Last month, U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Xavier Brunson told Congress that the two countries seek to meet conditions required for the transfer no later than the first quarter of 2029.
Source: Korea Times News
