USFK commander backs OPCON transfer but warns conditions must be met first

The commander of US Forces Korea said Wednesday that new benchmarks have emerged for the transfer of wartime operational control as the security environment and operational plans have shifted since the two countries first agreed on the conditions for the handover.

Gen. Xavier Brunson, speaking at a seminar hosted by the Gold Institute for International Strategy in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday (local time), said he personally supports the transfer. "I am a proponent of OPCON transition," he said. "This is about modernizing the world's greatest alliance."

However, Brunson said what he opposes is bypassing the conditions established years ago that remain in effect. "We have been working on this since 2015," he said.

He said no one can claim the conditions have remained unchanged, acknowledging that the circumstances surrounding the OPCON transfer have shifted.

"Even a cursory glance at the newspaper would tell you the conditions have clearly changed," he said. "There was yet another missile launch from North Korea this week."

"The conditions have changed, and our plans have been revised — so there are now new standards we must meet," he said.

The "conditions" Brunson referred to are understood to encompass both the military requirements the two countries agreed upon for the transfer and the broader security environment on the Korean Peninsula.

His remarks were seen as particularly aimed at underscoring that the military capabilities and readiness required for the transfer have also evolved, given the changing security landscape marked by North Korea's repeated missile launches.

The comments were widely read as a signal that any push to proceed with the transfer must still fully satisfy the agreed conditions as updated to reflect the new security reality.

However, it remains unclear whether the "plan revision" Brunson cited refers to changes made by the US military alone or jointly by both countries, and the specifics of what was changed and how have not been disclosed.

South Korea and the United States are currently at odds over whether the conditions for the transfer have been met. Seoul maintains they have been sufficiently satisfied and that the handover could proceed without issue, while Washington is believed to hold that they have not yet been fully met.

"Someone may make a decision not to be opposed to OPCON transition, but I want us to meet the conditions that were previously established," Brunson said.

On the idea of a timeline-based transfer rather than a conditions-based one, he pushed back. "That's not what we do," he said. "Time itself is a condition, but we are talking about core capabilities — the ability to execute all missions to the fullest."