18 July 2013 (13:06 UTC-07 Tango)/10 Ramadan 1434/27 Tir 1391/11 Ji-Wie (6th month) 4711

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) will be replaced by KORCOM (Korea Command).

KORCOM, along with United Nations Command forces, will be headquartered in a new $10.7 billion USD facility located at Pyeongtaek, currently where the U.S. Army’s Camp Humphreys is now.  U.S. Army officials said the new massive HQ can operate for 72 hours without re-supply.

The shift to KORCOM is dependent on southern Korea taking over direct military operational control (OPCON) during wartime.  However, today the Republic of Korea Defense Ministry asked for a delay in transfer of OPCON from the U.S.

The OPCON and KORCOM shifts were to go into effect at the end of 2015.  RoK defense officials say they’re holding off on taking over OPCON because they believe the military situation in East Asia is escalating faster than expected, and RoK forces are not yet ready to take the lead with OPCON.