South Korea’s defense ministry said Thursday that the Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue, or KIDD, was held in Washington from Tuesday to Wednesday, led by Kim Hong-cheol, Seoul’s deputy minister for defense policy, John Noh, U.S. assistant secretary of war for Indo-Pacific security affairs, and James Finch, acting deputy assistant secretary for East Asia. Senior officials from the defense and foreign affairs ministries of both countries also attended.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed to step up cooperation to carry out defense-related commitments from last November’s leaders’ joint fact sheet and the joint statement adopted at the 57th Security Consultative Meeting, or SCM.
The joint fact sheet included cooperation on South Korea’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines, while last year’s SCM statement said the two sides would set a target year for the transfer of wartime operational control, or OPCON, by the end of this year.
The latest KIDD talks are believed to have included efforts to narrow differences over pending alliance issues, including OPCON transfer. But the ministry’s announcement did not include any specific mention of discussions on the issue.
Ahead of the KIDD session, South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in Washington on Monday. Ahn said the two sides shared the view that OPCON should be transferred at an early date, but added that “there are some areas where the U.S. side has slightly different views.”
Other pending issues, including cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines and a proposal for divided management of the Demilitarized Zone, currently overseen by the U.N. Command, are also believed to have been discussed. But the ministry did not disclose details on whether or how those issues were addressed.
Still, the reference to implementing the leaders’ joint fact sheet and last year’s SCM outcome suggests the two countries intend to keep seeking progress on the pending issues.
Launched in 2011, the KIDD is a senior-level consultative body designed to support timely and effective security coordination between Seoul and Washington. The talks are held once or twice a year, alternately in South Korea and the U.S.
This week’s meeting also served as part of preparations for this year’s SCM between the defense chiefs of the two countries, which is expected to be held later this year.
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