Blue House Says No Change to Building Nuclear-Powered Submarines in South Korea, Says No Major Gap With U.S. on OPCON Transfer

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[Financial News] The Blue House is moving to speed up discussions on nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment and reprocessing, and the recovery of wartime operational control (OPCON), as follow-up security talks between South Korea and the United States resume. In particular, it reaffirmed that there is no change to the policy of building nuclear-powered submarines in South Korea and set a goal of producing concrete results by the end of the year.
\r\nA senior Blue House official told reporters that there is "no major change" to the plan to build nuclear-powered submarines in South Korea, a topic under discussion between Seoul and Washington. He explained that "the issue has been discussed on that premise, and that remains the case now."
The official also said, "Security negotiations as a whole have recently resumed, and the talks were very productive and useful." He added, "There were discussions on enrichment, reprocessing and nuclear-powered submarines, as well as what could be called umbrella-level talks."
He went on to say, "Because some time has passed in the meantime, we want to accelerate the overall discussion process and make progress." He added, "There is no fixed deadline, but we will move quickly and work to produce concrete results by the end of the year."
Asked about the timing of the recovery of wartime operational control (OPCON), the official said the gap in views between South Korea and the United States is not large and stressed the need for an early transfer.
The senior Blue House official said, "Unlike what many of you may think, the gap between South Korea and the United States on OPCON is not that wide. Efforts to meet the conditions have been under way for more than 10 years, and a few years ago there was even an assessment that the conditions had been met to the 90% range." He added, "There is not much difference in how the conditions are viewed, so they can be adjusted and aligned."
Earlier, President Lee held the inaugural meeting of the Future Defense Strategy Committee in Jinhae, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, in May and stressed self-reliant national defense. He said, "A nuclear-powered submarine to be built on the basis of the strong ROK-U.S. Alliance will symbolize our determination to take responsibility for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula ourselves. It will also make a major contribution to strengthening the South Korean defense industry." He also made clear his desire for the early recovery of wartime operational control (OPCON).
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back also reported the "South Korea's Nuclear-Powered Submarine Development Master Plan" at the Future Defense Strategy Committee. The first vessel is scheduled to be launched in the mid-2030s, with the goal of entering service in the late 2030s.
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cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun Reporter