The South Korean Ministry of National Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense announced on May 14 that they held the 28th Integrated Defense Consultative Meeting (KIDD) in Washington, D.C., on May 12 and 13.
The meeting was attended by Hong Chul, Director of Defense Policy, and John Nod, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, along with James Finch, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia, who served as the chief representatives from both sides. Key officials from the defense and diplomatic sectors of both countries were also present.
During the meeting, the two sides evaluated the overall status of defense cooperation within the U.S.-South Korea alliance and exchanged views on policy directions to strengthen the alliance's combined defense posture.
The Ministry stated, "Both sides agreed to actively promote cooperation for the implementation of the Joint Fact Sheet on defense matters and the Joint Communiqué from the 57th U.S.-South Korea Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held last November."
Additionally, the KIDD was assessed as providing a crucial foundation for advancing practical cooperation to further solidify the alliance, with plans to deepen collaboration to achieve common security goals in the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.
A key agenda item for this meeting was the transfer of operational control. South Korean Defense Minister An Gyu-baek and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth held a bilateral meeting at the U.S. Department of Defense on May 11, prior to the KIDD.
In a press briefing with reporters at the South Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C., the day after the meeting, Minister An stated, "The transfer of operational control based on conditions remains unchanged, with the goal of setting a target year for the transfer to be confirmed by the presidents after the two ministers agree on it during the SCM in November." He also noted, "There are some differing views from the U.S. side."
The conditions agreed upon for the transfer of operational control include: 1) military capabilities necessary to lead combined defense; 2) the alliance's comprehensive ability to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats; and 3) a security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region that is conducive to a stable transfer.
The government is considering setting a target year for the transfer after completing verification related to Full Operational Capability (FOC) in the second phase, with plans to seek approval from the U.S.-South Korea defense ministers during the SCM in October.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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