The United States and South Korea agreed on Friday that the two sides will disestablish the current South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command and complete the transition to the new supporting-supported command relationship between the two countries on April 17, 2012.

The agreement was announced following a meeting between U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo in Washington on Friday.

Under the agreement, South Korea would take wartime command of its own forces and U.S. forces stationed in South Korea would act in a supporting role.

Currently, South Korean forces would be put under U.S. command if war breaks out on the peninsula.

The United States originally wanted to hand over control of South Korean forces in war time in 2009, but South Korea wanted to take more time, news reports said.

The transition would start in July this year, and a "certification exercise" would be conducted in March 2012, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Source: Xinhua