U.S. troops attend a ceremony in a U.S. base in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, June 18, 2025. Yonhap
WASHINGTON/SEOUL — South Korea and the United States will maintain their existing combined command structure after Seoul retakes wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington, the South's defense ministry said Thursday, dismissing a report suggesting the command could be disbanded after the transfer.
The Chosun Ilbo daily reported that the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has told Seoul that should the OPCON transition proceed without fully satisfying military requirements for the transfer, it would be difficult for U.S. troops to fall under a South Korean general's operational control.
The article suggested it could signal a possible disbandment of the allies' current Combined Forces Command structure.
"South Korea and the U.S. will retain the current Combined Forces Command structure after the OPCON transfer to maintain a robust combined defense posture," the ministry said in a media note.
The ministry cited the agreement reached between the allies in 2018 to establish a "Future Combined Forces Command," similar to the current combined command system, after the OPCON transition is complete.
"The USFK has never made any proposal to our military on altering the existing arrangement," it added.
The newspaper said the USFK delivered concerns over Seoul rushing with the OPCON transition to U.S. Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby when he visited Seoul in January, and also to the South Korean side later.
The USFK told South Korean authorities that such a rush would make it difficult for American troops to come under South Korean operational control within the allies' current combined command construct, according to the report.
The ministry voiced "strong" regret over the report that it said could undermine the bilateral alliance.
Source: Korea Times News
