Hegseth Inspects DMZ and Panmunjom, Joins First Joint U.S.–South Korea F‑16 Flight Ahead of Defense Talks

U.S. defense chief visits tense border ahead of allied talks

SEOUL — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday inspected the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas as he began a two-day visit to South Korea for allied security discussions.

Hegseth and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back received a briefing from military officers at Observation Post Ouellette, a position near the military demarcation line long visited by U.S. leaders — including Donald Trump in 2019 — to peer across the border into North Korea and meet U.S. troops stationed there.

The two defense chiefs also visited the Panmunjom border village, where the 1950–53 Korean War armistice was signed. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the visit "reaffirmed the firm combined defense posture and close coordination" between the allies.

Hegseth made no public remarks about North Korea, which in recent years has largely ignored appeals from Washington and Seoul for dialogue while accelerating its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Alliance show of force: South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jin Yong-sung and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, oversaw a combined formation flight of South Korean and U.S. F-16 fighter jets above the major U.S. base in Pyeongtaek. The flight, conducted for the first time, was intended to demonstrate the allies’ "ironclad combined defense posture."

Hegseth and Ahn, who previously met Saturday at a defense ministers’ meeting in Malaysia, are scheduled to attend the allies’ annual defense talks in Seoul on Tuesday. Officials say the agenda will focus on core alliance issues: South Korea’s pledge to increase defense spending, the planned return of wartime operational control to a binational command led by a South Korean general with a U.S. deputy, and concerns about burden-sharing.

Some officials in Seoul are wary that the U.S. may press for substantially higher host-nation contributions or even reassess its force posture in Korea to prioritize resources elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.

Hegseth’s visit follows a recent trip to South Korea by former President Trump, during which he met world leaders on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju, including South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a meeting with President Lee, Seoul reiterated its commitment to boost defense spending and sought U.S. support for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines.

Trump later said on social media that the United States would share closely held technology to enable South Korea to build a nuclear-powered submarine and that the vessel would be built at the Philly Shipyard, recently purchased by South Korea’s Hanwha Group. The leaders also discussed trade, including details of roughly $350 billion in U.S. investments South Korea pledged as part of efforts to avoid the U.S. administration’s highest tariffs.

Why it matters

The DMZ visit and joint F-16 flight signal a coordinated display of deterrence by Seoul and Washington ahead of negotiations on operational control, defense spending and the future U.S. presence on the peninsula — issues with significant implications for regional security and U.S.–South Korea ties.