Overview
- After their Security Consultative Meeting, Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon will work with the State and Energy departments to implement the president’s pledge enabling South Korea to build nuclear‑powered submarines at a U.S. shipyard.
- Hegseth announced the allies agreed to have South Korea maintain and repair U.S. warships in theater to keep more vessels ready in the region.
- He said the alliance’s core mission remains deterring North Korea, while adding that flexibility for U.S. Forces Korea to respond to regional contingencies will be considered.
- Talks covered Seoul’s bid to retake wartime operational control and increased South Korean defense spending, with a full joint communique still pending.
- Visible deterrence steps included the first joint DMZ/JSA visit by the defense chiefs in eight years and a first‑ever combined commanders’ formation flight by U.S. and South Korean F‑16s.