{"id":7985,"date":"2026-10-11T09:51:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T09:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7985"},"modified":"2026-10-11T09:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T09:51:56","slug":"koreas-role-in-combined-command-set-to-grow-after-opcon-transfer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=7985","title":{"rendered":"Korea’s role in combined command set to grow after OPCON transfer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, right, reviews an honor guard alongside Gen. Xavier Brunson, center, commander of the United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command, during a visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 2. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Korea prepares to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States, questions remain over how the leadership and organization of their combined military command will change.<\/p>\n

The Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) is expected to retain its integrated command structure, with Korean officers potentially taking more senior staff positions, military experts said.<\/p>\n

The outlook comes after Seoul and Washington disclosed that they have agreed on a provisional organizational plan for the post-transfer command. While the two countries have already agreed to put a Korean general in charge, the division of responsibilities beneath the commander has yet to be made public.<\/p>\n

Gen. Kim Seong-min, the CFC\u2019s deputy commander, told a parliamentary audit Wednesday that the provisional arrangement would be finalized during the Full Mission Capability (FMC) assessment, the final stage of the three-phase evaluation process for OPCON transfer. He described the plan as a draft and dismissed suggestions that the combined command would be dissolved after the handover.<\/p>\n

Kim Jung-sup, director of the Sejong Institute, said the existing agreement leaves little room for a major restructuring of the command.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll naturally proceed under the existing agreement. Changing that would be a major departure,\u201d he said, adding that adjustments were more likely to involve the allocation of posts within the combined staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cIntelligence and operations are important staff functions,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThere could be changes such as more Korean generals heading those sections or taking a more active role in the staff once a Korean general becomes commander.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Gen. Kim Seong-min, left, deputy commander of the Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, answers lawmakers’ questions during a National Assembly Defense Committee audit of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan District, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CFC is currently led by a U.S. four-star general, with a Korean four-star general serving as deputy. Officers from both militaries serve on an integrated staff that plans and directs combined operations. The command was established in 1978 to coordinate the allies\u2019 defense of Korea and has since served as the central headquarters for their combined wartime operations.<\/p>\n

Under the agreed post-transfer arrangement, a Korean four-star general would become commander and a U.S. general would serve as deputy, rather than the allies operating separate wartime commands.<\/p>\n

A shift to parallel national commands would amount to a more fundamental change, Kim said, because the existing arrangement assumes a single combined headquarters. He considered such a departure unlikely under the agreements already reached by the allies.<\/p>\n

Kim said the two militaries could also continue sharing leadership of component commands, as they do now. He cautioned, however, that there was not enough information to predict which side would hold individual posts under the provisional plan.<\/p>\n

Jeong Han-beom, a political science professor at Korea National Defense University, similarly expected the basic framework to remain intact.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve heard is that they\u2019re proceeding in line with the original agreement,\u201d Jeong said. \u201cAs far as I know, there hasn\u2019t been a major change. But we\u2019ll have to see what comes out of the detailed discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unresolved question is how command authority over U.S. forces would work in practice once a Korean general heads the CFC.<\/p>\n

Retired Gen. Ahn Gwang-chan questioned whether the existing integrated structure could function in the same way under the new leadership arrangement. He said the critical issue was whether U.S. forces assigned to combined operations would fall under the Korean commander\u2019s operational control or instead operate through a coordination mechanism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the combined forces commander is Korean, will that still be the case? That\u2019s a very serious question,\u201d Ahn said, referring to the operational control relationship within the current command.<\/p>\n

Jeong, however, emphasized that the commander\u2019s authority would be meaningful if the commander had effective decision-making authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the commander has the authority to make decisions, then the authority is effectively guaranteed,\u201d he said. He also noted that agreements governing the CFC should not be taken to mean that every U.S. military unit in Korea would automatically come under its operational control.<\/p>\n

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Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, right, reviews an honor guard alongside Gen. Xavier Brunson, center, commander of the United Nations Command, U.S. Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command, during a visit to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Oct. 2. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense As Korea prepares to regain wartime operational control (OPCON)…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-korea","category-trending-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t