The United States will maintain wartime operational control (OPCON) on the Korean Peninsula beyond the previously scheduled handover date of 2015, according to a joint communiqué released by the countries on Friday.

The announcement was made following the 46th U.S.-ROK Security Consultative Meeting between U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo.

“While this agreement will delay the scheduled transfer of operational control, it will ensure that when the transfer does occur, Korean forces have the necessary defensive capabilities to address an intensifying North Korean threat,” Hagel said at a joint press conference on Friday.

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