Secretary of War Pete Hegseth traveled to South Korea, visited the border with North Korea, and met top-level officials. Hegseth lauded Seoul for planning to increase its military budget.
After meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Ahn Gyu-back, on Tuesday, Hegseth told reporters that he was “greatly encouraged” by Seoul’s proposal to increase military spending by over eight percent. He continued, “We face, as we both acknowledge, a dangerous security environment, but our alliance is stronger than ever.”
He explained the US-South Korean alliance remains focused on North Korea, but added that American troops would have the “flexibility” to combat other threats in the region. “There’s no doubt flexibility for regional contingencies is something we would take a look at, but we are focused on standing by our allies here and ensuring the threat of the DPRK is not a threat to the Republic of Korea and certainly continue to extend nuclear deterrence as we have before,” The War Secretary said.
Ahn told reporters that Seoul was not seeking its own nuclear weapons but was working to integrate its conventional forces with Washington’s nuclear weapons. In September, the US, South Korea, and Japan engaged in war games, preparing to use nuclear weapons in East Asia.
While Hegseth touted the strength of the US-South Korean alliance, notably, there was no joint statement issued after his meeting with Ahn. Following his meeting with the defense minister, the War Secretary met with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
After the meeting, Lee explained that Seoul was looking to rework the military structure between the US and South Korea. Under the current arrangement, a US general would assume command of the South Korean military during wartime.
On Monday, Hegseth visited the demilitarized zone. Following Hegseth’s trip, North Korea conducted test-fire artillery rounds. Pyongyang also conducted two missile tests in recent weeks.
During President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia last week, he said multiple times he wants to meet with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang did not respond to Trump’s remarks.
North Korea says it will not engage in talks with the US until Washington drops its demand for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
