Seoul: A former U.S. diplomat stated that the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from the United States to South Korea does not signify "the end" of the bilateral alliance, despite ongoing concerns that the transition might weaken the security partnership. According to Yonhap News Agency, Kathleen Stephens, who served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2008 to 2011, expressed during a forum that the timing might be favorable for the OPCON handover. She conveyed her confidence that Seoul and Washington are capable of "managing" the transition effectively. The allies have been engaging in discussions on various issues, including the OPCON transfer and enhancing operational flexibility for the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), as part of efforts to "modernize" their long-standing alliance to better respond to the evolving security environment. Stephens emphasized during the forum hosted by the Korea Economic Institute of America, "It's not the end of the alliance if we have a change in the operational control." She added, "It depends on how that change is managed, but I think it can be managed, and perhaps this is the moment when sort of the stars align, if you like, and we come out with something that doesn't necessarily drive us apart." The two allies have been working on the conditions-based OPCON transition since reaching an agreement in 2014. After the transfer, a South Korean general is expected to lead the combined forces, with a U.S. general serving as deputy. Some critics argue that this change might weaken America's security commitment to its Asian ally. However, Stephens maintained a positive outlook, asserting that Seoul and Washington will find a way to address key alliance issues, such as the U.S.'s pursuit of USFK's greater "strategic flexibility" to counter broader regional threats. "We can address these things, but underlying is ... do we come out of it with a greater sense of confidence and trust about the commitment," she noted. During the same forum, Phili p Goldberg, who served as U.S. ambassador to Seoul from 2022 to 2025, expressed concerns that certain alliance modernization issues, including USFK's strategic flexibility and South Korea's initiative to assume more security responsibilities, might cause the allies to "move apart to some extent." He elaborated, "(It) means moving apart in certain fundamental ways, where we are looking to use our troop presence more for regional issues (beyond the Korean Peninsula) ... I think that this suits many aspects of the current Korean administration's outlook, which is to try to bring more responsibility for Korea's defense to itself." Nevertheless, Goldberg identified opportunities for the two allies to enhance cooperation in the defense industrial sector. Responding to a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece that accused South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's administration of taking "a hard left turn against America," Goldberg dismissed the notion. "I don't know where that comes from. I've met him, and he didn' t strike me as such," Goldberg stated about Lee. "He's a very good politician, as was shown again in the elections yesterday, and he understands the value of the alliance with the U.S., especially the nuclear umbrella." Stephens also highlighted the bipartisan support and increasing public backing for the alliance in South Korea, suggesting that talk of "anti-Americanism" in Korea seems "very anachronistic." She explained, "There is a distinction between anti-Americanism ... when you talk about Korean politics, and not liking a particular policy or another. But a sort of ideologically anti-American .... to me, this is all rather anachronistic now."