Kang Shin-chul holds first face-to-face talks with Hegseth in Philippines; differences remain over transfer conditions
South Korea and the United States have agreed to hold the Security Consultative Meeting — the two countries' annual ministerial-level defense forum — in early next year.
Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul met with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Cebu, Philippines, on Wednesday, with both sides agreeing that "the successful convening of the historic 58th SCM is important," the Defense Ministry said.
During the talks, Hegseth reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the transfer of wartime operational control, and the two ministers agreed to work closely together to ensure the transfer proceeds smoothly and at the right time.
Kang said the alliance has served as a cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the region for more than 70 years.
Kang also said he hopes to see the alliance "further developed into a future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance, grounded in firm mutual trust and a shared 'fight together' spirit."
In response, Hegseth said he looks forward to strengthening cooperation between the two countries' defense authorities while maintaining a robust combined defense posture, the Defense Ministry said.
The SCM is an annual forum where the two defense ministers discuss a full range of bilateral defense issues, including OPCON transfer and extended deterrence. Seoul has been pursuing a plan to complete the verification of the Future Combined Forces Command's Full Operational Capability at the 58th SCM and determine the year — known as "Year X" — for the OPCON transfer. The meeting typically concludes with a joint communiqué negotiated between the two sides.
It is unusual for the two defense ministers to hold a separate bilateral meeting in December of the same year. The SCM carrying over into the following year would be the first time since 1998 — a gap of 28 years.
Differences remain between the two sides, particularly at the military level, over whether the conditions required for FOC verification have been met. Whether those gaps can be bridged through higher-level political discussions going forward is the key question.
Seoul has maintained that verification of the Future Combined Forces Command's Full Mission Capability — the final stage after FOC — could be completed in about a year. Under that timeline, some observers have suggested 2028, or even next year, could be put forward as the target year for the transfer.
The Defense Ministry's statement Wednesday described the goal as completing the transfer "at the right time" rather than "at the earliest possible time" — a subtler formulation that analysts say reflects the lingering differences between the two sides.
The joint statement from the Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue, a senior-level bilateral defense consultative body that met in September, had included language about strengthening cooperation to "accelerate" the OPCON transfer. That word was absent from the readout issued after Wednesday's ministerial talks.
123@heraldcorp.com
