USFK commander against withdrawing troops, expects Opcon transfer by early 2029
Published: 23 Apr. 2026, 10:24
Updated: 23 Apr. 2026, 17:43
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- MICHAEL LEE
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of United States Forces Korea, responds to lawmakers’ questions during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services in Washington on April 21. [SCREEN CAPTURE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/23/1dd2dc12-8ef7-48d8-8319-6e16cdb2e570.jpg)
Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of United States Forces Korea, responds to lawmakers’ questions during a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services in Washington on April 21. [SCREEN CAPTURE]
U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson told U.S. lawmakers that he is against withdrawing U.S. troops from the peninsula during a congressional testimony in Washington on Wednesday.
He also said that Seoul and Washington aim to meet the conditions for transferring wartime operational control (Opcon) by early 2029, but he emphasized that the handover will not be rushed until conditions are met.
Speaking before the U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, Brunson said that the allies have submitted a road map to the Pentagon to meet the required conditions “not later than the second quarter of fiscal year 2029.”
The U.S. fiscal year 2029 runs from Oct. 1, 2028, to Sept. 30, 2029, placing the second quarter between January and March 2029.
Brunson’s remarks point to a de facto target of early 2029 for fulfilling the conditions needed to transfer wartime control of South Korean forces from Washington to Seoul — a goal that President Lee Jae Myung has pledged to achieve within his five-year term, which ends in June 2030.
But the timing of the Opcon transfer forecast by the USFK commander overlaps with the end of the current U.S. presidential term and the start of the next administration, raising the possibility that final certification could fall to the successor of current U.S. President Donald Trump.
Brunson repeatedly stressed that the transition remains strictly “conditions-based,” pushing back against any suggestion of an accelerated timeline driven by political considerations.
“Accelerated COTP is not time-based,” he said, referring to the conditions-based Opcon transition plan. “As the bilaterally agreed-to framework dictates, the [South Korean] military must possess specific capabilities to meet conditions for COTP.”
Under the current framework, South Korea must demonstrate that it has the military capabilities needed to lead combined defense operations before regaining wartime control — a process that has already been delayed multiple times over the past decade.
Brunson said that the allies plan to review Seoul’s progress in fulfilling Opcon transfer conditions at upcoming high-level meetings, including the South Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue and the annual Security Consultative Meeting in Washington later this year.
He also struck a cautiously optimistic note on readiness, pointing to South Korea’s expanding defense budget and growing military capabilities.
“I think that right now, where we stand based on the continued investments by the Republic of Korea [...] really an uplift of about 8.5 percent in their defense spending over the next three fiscal years, I think that we’re in a good position,” he said, referring to South Korea by its official name. “But there’s still more work to be done.”
![Gen. Xavier Brunson, center, salutes during a change-of-command ceremony for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and the United States Forces Korea at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 20, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/23/020e3618-e1b3-476c-b073-20577e290da8.jpg)
Gen. Xavier Brunson, center, salutes during a change-of-command ceremony for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and the United States Forces Korea at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 20, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]
Brunson noted that South Korea is pursuing “conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines” and that Washington “will work closely” with Seoul “to advance the requirements for that project, including avenues to source fuel.”
He added that these commitments and South Korea’s broader investment in security underscore its status as a “model ally.”
At the same time, Brunson offered his clearest public pushback yet against speculation over a potential drawdown of U.S. forces on the peninsula.
Asked whether there could come a point where it would be reasonable for allied forces to separate or for U.S. troops to leave South Korea, he said he “would not provide that as [his] best military advice.”
Instead, Brunson suggested the transition would coincide with a broader shift in the role of USFK, as Washington looks beyond the peninsula to the wider Indo-Pacific region.
He said that U.S. forces would continue to provide “essential but more limited” support for North Korea-related missions once the Opcon transfer takes place and expand their strategic focus within the region.
In his prepared testimony, Brunson described the Korean Peninsula as “key strategic terrain” for defending the U.S. homeland and advancing U.S. interests in Northeast Asia. He also emphasized a shift toward focusing on “capabilities over numbers,” signaling that future force posture may prioritize flexibility and advanced assets over troop levels.
Operational control over South Korean forces was first handed to the United States in 1950 by then-President Syngman Rhee to U.S. General Douglas MacArthur during the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korea regained peacetime control in 1994, but wartime control has remained in the United States’ hands.
The allies initially agreed in 2007 to transfer wartime Opcon in 2012, but the two scrapped fixed deadlines in 2014 in favor of the current conditions-based approach.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM HYOUNG-GU, MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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