S. Korea, U.S. To Hold Working-level Defense Talks This Week

South Korea and the United States will hold biannual working-level defense talks in Washington this week over a range of issues of mutual concern, including the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), Seoul's defense ministry said Monday

SEOUL, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Apr, 2019 ) :South Korea and the United States will hold biannual working-level defense talks in Washington this week over a range of issues of mutual concern, including the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), Seoul's defense ministry said Monday.

During the 15th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) slated for Tuesday through Wednesday (U.S. time), the two sides plan to share their assessment of recent security circumstances on the Korean Peninsula and discuss ways to bolster cooperation in light of ongoing diplomacy aimed at denuclearizing North Korea and establishing a peace regime on the peninsula, according to the ministry.

Also on the table will be key alliance issues, such as the OPCON transfer from Washington to Seoul, under which Seoul will lead wartime operations with Washington playing a supporting role.

Chung Suk-hwan, Seoul's deputy defense minister for policy, will represent the South Korean side, and David Helvey, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, will lead the U.S. delegation, the ministry added.

Launched in 2011, KIDD has served as a venue for the allies to discuss comprehensive defense issues by integrating a set of consultative mechanisms, such as the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee and the Security Policy Initiative.