Senate defense bill includes provision calling for quarterly Pentagon report on OPCON transfer

WASHINGTON — A Senate version of an annual U.S. defense bill includes a provision calling for the defense secretary to provide regular reports on a road map for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) to Korea, its text showed Thursday. The inclusion of the provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027 apparently signals the upper house's will to examine the OPCON transition process, which the administration of Korean President Lee Jae Myung seeks to complete before its term ends in 2030. It stipulates that by no later than March 1 next year and every 90 days thereafter through 2030, the Pentagon chief should provide the appropriate committees of Congress with a report on the road map for the implementation of the conditions-based OPCON transition, which the allies signed in 2018. The report should include the assessment by the U.S. Pacific Command commander and the U.S. Forces Korea commander regarding the conditions that must be achieved before the OPCON transfer, the bill says. Korea handed over operational control of its troops to the UWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times