Hegseth at the DMZ: US Weighs Greater Regional Flexibility for Troops in South Korea, Focus Remains on North

SEOUL, Nov 4

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that Washington will explore options to give its forces based in South Korea greater "flexibility" to respond to regional threats, while making clear that the primary mission of the U.S.-South Korea alliance remains deterring a nuclear-armed North Korea.

Hegseth made the remarks during a visit to Seoul that included a tour of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and a meeting with his South Korean counterpart. He and South Korea's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back observed combined military demonstrations during the trip.

"But there's no doubt that flexibility for regional contingency is something we would take a look at," Hegseth told reporters when asked whether the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops on the peninsula could be tasked beyond Korea, including in potential contingencies involving China.

U.S. officials have signaled plans to make American forces more adaptable so they could operate outside the Korean Peninsula to address a broader range of threats — for example, defending Taiwan or constraining China's expanding military reach. Seoul has pushed back on proposals to change the primary role of U.S. forces on the peninsula but has spent two decades strengthening its own defenses.

South Korea currently fields about 450,000 active troops and has been building capabilities intended to allow it to assume wartime command of combined U.S.-South Korea forces. President Lee Jae Myung told Hegseth that a central aim of his administration is to achieve that "operational control," arguing it would let the United States focus more on other theaters.

"If the capabilities of our military are greatly strengthened and South Korea takes the lead in defending the Korean Peninsula, the defense burden of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region will also be reduced," Lee said in a statement from his office.

Hegseth said the allies also agreed that South Korea will maintain and repair U.S. ships in the region so vessels can remain nearby and ready if needed.

On Seoul's plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Hegseth said former U.S. President Donald Trump supported the initiative as part of a broader effort to strengthen allied capabilities, calling South Korea "a model ally." South Korean officials have said the country could launch a nuclear-powered submarine by the mid-2030s if the United States supplies fuel.

Addressing concerns about proliferation, Defense Minister Ahn reiterated that South Korea is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and said:

"Therefore, there will be no development of nuclear weapons in the Republic of Korea."

This visit underscores ongoing discussions between Seoul and Washington about burden-sharing, force posture and how the alliance can adapt to a changing strategic environment while maintaining its core objective of deterring North Korean aggression.