South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Thursday his country has a firm willingness to reassume wartime command of its troops from the United States, vowing efforts to become capable of effectively countering North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Han made the remarks after holding the annual security meeting with his U.S. counterpart, Chuck Hagel, during which the allies agreed to delay the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), with no new date set.

It has sparked suspicion that South Korea doesn't have the will to bring back the authority handed over to the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korean War. 

"It is an unchangeable fact that we will assume OPCON," Han told reporters after the talks with Hagel. "It is a considerable jump in logic to say that (South Korea and the U.S.) agreed in principle to delay the OPCON transfer indefinitely."

Noting that the two sides were committed to a stable transition at an appropriate date, he underscored the government's will to meet conditions necessary for the transition.

In their conditions-based approach to the OPCON, Seoul and Washington said the handover will take place when South Korea's critical military capabilities are secured and the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the region is conducive to the assumption.

"We aim to have the handover take place in the mid-2020s when we get the Kill Chain and the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems," he noted.

As part of efforts for a stronger deterrence against the North, South Korea has revved up efforts to develop the pre-emptive strike apparatus of the KAMD, a low-tier air defense program, and the Kill Chain, which is designed to launch strikes right after signs are detected of imminent nuclear or missile provocations by Pyongyang. 

"I believe that North Korea appears to have significantly improved its technological level over the past eight years since it first carried out a nuclear test," Han said, vowing to maintain close cooperation and policy coordination with the U.S. to keep the bellicose North in check.  

After its third underground detonation test in 2013, North Korea has warned of "a new form of nuclear test," ratcheting up tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul handed over control of its forces to the U.S. during the Korean War to defend against invading troops from North Korea.

Peacetime control of its forces was returned in 1994, and South Korea was scheduled to get back operational control in the event of war in December 2015.

But last year, Seoul asked for a delay in the OPCON transfer after the North conducted the third nuclear test, saying the security situation on the peninsula was markedly different from when the transfer was agreed upon a few years ago. (Yonhap)