[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Vaccine Sharing between Korea and the US... Will Joint Military Exercises Normalize?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] As the United States has decided to supply COVID-19 vaccines to 550,000 South Korean troops, it appears that the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises will be conducted normally starting in the second half of the year.

On the 21st (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden stated at a joint press conference held after a summit with President Moon Jae-in at the White House, "The South Korean and U.S. militaries frequently interact," and "We plan to provide COVID-19 vaccines to 550,000 South Korean troops."

Domestically, there had already been speculation that vaccine supplies would be directly supported by the U.S. in the second quarter of this year, but within the U.S., public opinion was not favorable toward prioritizing vaccine support for South Korea, an economically advanced country. However, if the support is targeted at the 'South Korean military,' which has close contact with the U.S., public opinion is unlikely to worsen further.

In particular, if vaccine support is provided first to the South Korean military, the South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises scheduled around August are expected to proceed normally. The joint exercises were scaled down since last year due to COVID-19.

In the first half of this year’s South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, the Full Operational Capability (FOC) verification of the Future Combined Command for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) was not conducted. It is known that South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to conduct the FOC verification exercise during the joint exercises in the second half of the year.

If normal joint exercises are held around August and the FOC verification is carried out, the OPCON transfer process is expected to accelerate.

President Moon said on the day, "Strong security must be supported to maintain peace. We will further strengthen the combined defense posture." The joint exercises are also a prerequisite for the OPCON transfer. President Moon added, "We reaffirmed the will of both countries for the OPCON transfer."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.