South Korea and the United States have yet to settle on a direction for an upcoming joint exercise set to be held in August, with Korea wishing to focus on wartime operational command(OPCOM) while the U.S. insists the allies should focus on combined defense posture.

According to multiple government sources on Sunday, the allies have not reached a complete agreement on how the exercise will be held.

Sources say the U.S. maintains that the August drill should be used to boost joint posture as a replacement for a delayed springtime training that eventually did not take place due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Korea contends that preparations for the OPCON transfer must take place as scheduled.

In order to verify whether Seoul is prepared to meet conditions for the transition, the two sides successfully carried out an initial operational capability(IOC) test last year. They have also clinched a deal to complete the next step, a Full Operational Capability(FOC) test within this year's second half, which South Korea is adamantly calling for. 

Observers say the agreement is not binding, but if the FOC test is put off until next year, the OPCON transfer will also be delayed.