South Korea says North Korea fired artillery rockets during Pete Hegseth visit

SEOUL - North Korea fired multiple artillery rockets an hour before US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth visited the border separating it from the South, Seoul’s military told AFP on Nov 4.

Pyongyang also fired similar weapons minutes before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last week, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

The JCS said they had recently “detected about 10 artillery rockets fired into the northern part of the West Sea”, Seoul’s name for the Yellow Sea.

The weapons were fired at around 3pm on Nov 1 and around 4pm on Nov 3.

“Details of the projectiles are currently being closely analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities,” the JCS added.

Mr Hegseth visited the heavily fortified border

dividing North and South Korea on Nov 3, becoming the first Pentagon chief in eight years to do so.

He toured Panmunjom, the symbolic truce village where troops from both Koreas stand face-to-face, following a stop at Observation Post Ouellette overlooking the Demilitarised Zone.

Mr Hegseth and South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back “reaffirmed the strong combined defence posture and close cooperation between South Korea and the United States”, Seoul’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Mr Hegseth said at a joint news conference with Mr Ahn on Nov 4 that South Korea faces a “dangerous security environment” and the two ministers agreed to remain “clear-eyed about the threats” they face.

He also said South Korea’s increase in defence spending would accelerate its “ability to lead its conventional deterrence and defence against North Korea”.

President Lee said on Nov 4 Seoul would make its biggest defence budget increase in six years with an 8.2 per cent rise from 2025 to 66.3 trillion won ($6 billion).

Mr Hegseth’s trip comes after US President Donald Trump’s overtures to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his Asia tour last week drew no public response from Pyongyang.

However, Mr Trump has indicated that

he would still be willing to “come back”

for a future meeting with Mr Kim.

On Nov 1, Mr Lee met Mr Xi on the sidelines of an Asian economic summit, urging the Chinese leader to help Seoul “resume dialogue” with North Korea.

Mr Lee stressed the need for regional “stability” and noted “recent high-level exchanges between China and North Korea” – a reference to Mr Kim’s attendance at a major military parade in Beijing in September. AFP