The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee has asked the Department of Defense to submit a report on the situations in which a revision of the timetable for the return of wartime operational command to South Korea could occur.

The committee requested the department consult with South Korean defense officials and submit the report no later than December first.

The two nations' defense chiefs are expected to discuss a possible delay of the command transfer sometime this year and possibly at the defense and foreign ministerial meeting scheduled for late next month.

The senate committee requested that the report assess the preparations made so far on implementing the 2006 agreement for the April 2012 OPCON transfer and also address the situations in which the timetable can be adjusted.

The committee also wants the report to include ways to improve existing command control relations and defense capabilities for more efficient joint operations.