But, if a war erupts, an American commander of Combined Forces Command would assume OPCON and lead the fight, while a South Korean general would serve as deputy commander. commander to an American commander.Īfter the end of the Cold War, in 1994 the United States transferred peacetime OPCON back to South Korea.
When the U.S.-South Korean Combined Forces Command was established in 1978, OPCON was transferred from a U.N. After the war, the United States and South Korea codified the transfer, not only as a means to defend South Korea but also as a way for the United States to rein in potential South Korean aggression against its northern neighbor. Shortly after North Korea’s invasion in June 1950, South Korea transferred OPCON to the United Nations Command, which was led by U.S.
#Hawk missile commander joe full#
The History of Wartime Operational Controlįor the past seven decades, South Korea has lacked full control over its military. Seen in this light, the Moon administration’s military buildup starts to make sense. To achieve that ambition, South Korea needs to reduce its military dependence on the United States and enhance its own capabilities to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. What explains Moon’s seemingly contradictory approaches to national security? The answer lies in his goal for South Korea to take back wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States. North Korean state media has criticized Seoul’s arms development as an “unpardonable act of perfidy” that threatens to undermine peace and stability. While the military pact is not an arms control treaty, South Korea’s recent military buildup, which includes advancing missile capabilities targeting North Korea’s strategic assets and aimed at “decapitating” the North Korean leadership, arguably violates the spirit of the inter-Korean agreements. Through this process, the two Koreas agreed to de-escalate military tensions, end hostile acts, and build a sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula. He has spent significant political capital on this effort, which culminated in three inter-Korean summits in 2018 and a military agreement during the same year. Having served as a close aide to President Roh Moo-hyun from 2003 until 2008, during the peak of the “ sunshine era,” Moon restored the engagement policy toward North Korea shortly after taking office. Moon’s military buildup stands in stark contrast to his dovish policy toward North Korea. In addition, despite Pyongyang’s vehement protests, South Korea has resumed joint military exercises with the United States. By 2022, South Korea is expected to spend more on defense than Japan - whose gross domestic product is three times as large - and become the fifth- or sixth- biggest spender on defense in the world. Under the two previous conservative administrations of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, the defense budget only rose by between 4 and 6 percent annually. Since Moon, a member of South Korea’s Democratic Party, took office in 2017, the country’s defense budget has increased by an average of 7.4 percent annually. It was the latest step in South Korea’s ongoing military buildup. 7, South Korea successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile, becoming only the eighth country (and the first one without nuclear weapons) to possess that type of capability. Has South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in, a strong proponent of a peaceful engagement policy toward North Korea, turned into a hawk? On Sept.