Overview
- Allies are conducting the second-stage full operational capability (FOC) assessment and plan to complete FOC validation by the end of 2026 so they can set a target year for the OPCON transfer.
- Seoul says the final full mission capability (FMC) verification can be completed in about one year, a timeline that could allow a transfer as early as 2027 under South Korean scenarios.
- U.S. military leaders have urged a more cautious, conditions-based approach and have signaled a later horizon with a target no earlier than the second quarter of fiscal 2029.
- Seoul and Washington are negotiating a roadmap to be finalized before this year’s Security Consultative Meeting, and recent senior talks included South Korea’s proposal to take control of parts of the southern DMZ, a move opposed by the U.S.-led United Nations Command.
- If completed, the transfer would move wartime command from the U.S.-led Combined Forces Command to a Future Combined Forces Command led by a South Korean four-star general, with major effects on alliance command, nuclear deterrence planning, and day-to-day control for troops near the DMZ.