Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said two capability evaluations tied to the transfer of wartime operational control — including a counter-fire operations assessment — have already been completed during the shortened Ulchi Freedom Shield combined exercise.
Ahn made the remarks Thursday at a plenary session of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee, responding to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Byung-joo about whether the exercise cutback would affect the OPCON transfer evaluation process. "We have already completed two evaluations, including the counter-fire operations assessment, during Phase 1 of the UFS CPX," Ahn said.
He reiterated the point in response to a similar question from People Power Party lawmaker Lim Jong-deuk, saying South Korea and the United States had "closely conducted evaluations on two Full Operational Capability items together during Phase 1."
South Korea and the United States had originally planned to run UFS from Monday through Aug. 27 — an 11-day exercise — but Donald Trump ordered Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday to scale back the drills, citing his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the cost of the exercises. The schedule was revised to end early on Friday.
Only Phase 1, focused on defensive operations and running from Monday through Friday, will proceed. Phase 2, covering counteroffensive operations and scheduled for Monday through Wednesday of next week, was canceled entirely. The mid-exercise cutback was described as unprecedented.
"The Full Operational Capability verification assessment has been completed," Ahn said, adding there were no problems.
South Korean officials, including Ahn, explained that the OPCON transfer evaluations planned for this exercise had been scheduled for Phase 1 from the outset, meaning the cancellation of Phase 2 had no impact and the assessments were already finished.
Ahn gave the same answer to a similar question from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Sung-hoe. "The FOC verification assessment has already been completed," he said.
On field training exercises during the shortened UFS period, Ahn said 159 sessions are planned for this year and are conducted evenly throughout the year. "In terms of numbers, there are slightly fewer during the UFS period this year compared to last year, but they will continue afterward," he said.
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