Hegseth visits DMZ ahead of talks on US troops in South Korea
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Mr Pete Hegseth is expected to visit the Panmunjom truce village on the DMZ border with North Korea.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SEOUL - US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) along the border with North Korea as part of a trip to South Korea on Nov 3.
His visit to the heavily fortified DMZ came ahead of talks expected to involve Washington’s goal of reshaping the role of American troops in South Korea.
Mr Hegseth landed on the border area via a US army helicopter and met South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back, according to video footage released by the South Korean Defence Ministry.
“I believe it has symbolic and declarative significance itself, demonstrating the strength of the South Korea-US alliance and the combined defence posture,” Mr Ahn said of Mr Hegseth’s visit to the DMZ.
The defence chiefs are scheduled to hold the annual Security Consultative Meeting on Nov 4, the highest-level forum where the two countries chart the course of their military alliance and South Korea’s defence against nuclear-armed North Korea.
Mr Ahn and Mr Hegseth will discuss combined defence readiness against North Korea and cooperation on regional security and cyber and missile defence.
The two are expected to discuss plans to respond to the “changing security environment and threats” by developing the alliance between the two countries, it added.
Washington is considering making the role of the 28,500 US troops in South Korea more flexible, with an eye on maintaining the balance of power in Asia amid concerns about Chinese activities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
US officials have signalled a plan to make the US forces more flexible to potentially operate outside the Korean peninsula in response to a broader range of threats such as the defence of Taiwan and to check China’s growing military reach.
South Korea has resisted the idea of shifting the role of US troops, but has worked to grow its defence capabilities in the past 20 years with the goal of taking on the command of the combined forces
South Korea plans the largest defence budget increase in years for 2026 partly to address US President Donald Trump’s demand its allies pay more for US military presence in their countries.
Mr Hegseth is expected to visit the Panmunjom truce village on the DMZ border with North Korea with South Korea’s Mr Ahn.
On Nov 3, the top military officials of the two countries held their annual meeting on strategic and operational directions for the combined forces and shared the view that the regional security environment is “complex and unstable”.
The two chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pledged cooperation with other allies and partners to maintain the security of the Indo-Pacific and deter potential threats, South Korea’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has ignored overtures from Mr Trump and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for dialogue and has dramatically advanced its missile and conventional military capabilities. REUTERS
