U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gestures during a question and answer session in a plenary session of the International Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-la Dialogue Defence Summit in Singapore on May 30. [EPA/YONHAP]
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that Washington must “find the balance” of where American soldiers could be respected for their service in the process of transferring wartime operational control (Opcon) from Washington to Seoul.
Hegseth’s remarks came as Seoul and the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) remained at odds over the timeline for the Opcon transfer.
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They can be interpreted as a signal that the concerns of the USFK should also be taken into account. The USFK, which serves as the first evaluator of Opcon transfer readiness, previously expressed concerns about Korea’s plan to complete the transfer as early as next year.
