SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense ministry said Monday it is committed to an early takeover of wartime operational control (OPCON) of the country's troops by beefing up its own defense capabilities.
"Basically, our position is to push for the OPCON transition (from the U.S.) at an early date," the ministry's spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said at a press briefing. "(We) will try to strengthen the core capabilities of our military."
He was responding to a summit deal between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. last week.
The two leaders "decided to continue the Alliance's work to expeditiously enable the conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control of ROK (South Korea) forces," read a joint statement.
South Korea will continue to acquire the critical military capabilities necessary to lead the combined defense, it added.
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