By Jung Da-min
South Korea and the United States will hold their first joint military drill led by a South Korean general in August, in preparation for the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to the South Korean military, according to military sources Tuesday.
“The South Korean Deputy Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) will be the commander of the IOC [Initial Operational Capability] certification scheduled to take place in the second half of this year,” a military official said Tuesday, referring to Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk.
“A U.S. general will be the deputy commander of the IOC certification but it has yet to be decided who will command,” the official said, denying some media reports that Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the CFC, who also heads the U.S. Forces Korea and the United Nations Command here, will be deputy commander.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries have formed a team of 50 to conduct the IOC certification, according to military sources here.
The certification drill, if successful, is expected to accelerate the transfer of OPCON, which has repeatedly been delayed since it was agreed to in 2006 between the administrations of then Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George Bush.
The combined drill will mark the first time the allies have tested Seoul's operational capability in a military exercise. It will take place with an annual joint command post exercise (CPX) slated for the same month.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan agreed Monday at talks in Seoul to appoint a four-star South Korean general as the new leader of the future CFC once the OPCON transfer is completed.
The new CFC head will not assume other duties so he can focus on his new role, the ministry said.
In time of war, the future CFC leader will conduct operations based on agreements made at the Military Committee Meeting (MCM) between the chairmen of the South Korean and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staffs, after these are first come up with at the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between the defense ministers of the allies.
South Korea and the U.S. have been accelerating the wartime OPCON transfer this year, running a special committee to evaluate the South Korean Army's core military capabilities to lead the combined defense command. The monthly Special Permanent Military Committee was launched in March and is led by ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Park Han-ki and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Robert Abrams.