Seoul (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back, visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas on Monday.
As reported by Yonhap news agency, the defence chiefs visited Observation Post Ouellette, the U.N. Command’s military installation close to the Military Demarcation Line, and the Joint Security Area inside the DMZ.
What issues were discussed during the defence officials’ meeting?
On Monday, the leading military officials from the two nations convened their annual meeting regarding strategic and operational directions for their collective forces and agreed that the regional security environment is “complex and unstable.”
They pledged cooperation with other allies and partners to ensure security for the Indo-Pacific region and deter any potential threats, according to a statement from South Korea’s Defence Ministry.
What topics will dominate the upcoming security consultative meeting?
The defence chiefs are scheduled to hold the annual Security Consultative Meeting on Tuesday, the highest-level forum where the two countries chart the course of their military alliance and South Korea’s defence against North Korea.
South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Hegseth will discuss combined defence readiness against North Korea and cooperation on regional security and cyber and missile defence, the South’s Defence Ministry said.
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 said. Also on Tuesday, Hegseth is schedules to meet with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and meet U.S. troops at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, the largest U.S. overseas military installation.
As reported by Reuters, the US is considering an adjustment of the function of the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea. U.S. officials have indicated that they plan to make U.S. forces more adaptable to potentially operate outside the Korean peninsula in response to a wider array of threats, including defending Taiwan and managing China’s rise as a military power.
When was the last time defence chiefs of both nations visited the DMZ jointly?
The last time South Korea’s and the U.S. Defence Chiefs jointly visited the DMZ before 2025 was in October 2017, when Defence Minister Song Young-moo and Defence Secretary James Mattis jointly visited the Joint Security Area (JSA) inside the DMZ in Korea, when Mattis underscored a diplomatic solution to North Korea’s provocations.
