SEOUL: The United States will look at "flexibility" for its troops stationed in South Korea to operate against regional threats, but the focus of the alliance will remain on deterring North Korea, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. He spoke alongside his South Korean counterpart during a visit to South Korea that earlier included a trip to the Demilitarised Zone on the border with North Korea.
When asked whether the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea might be used in any conflicts beyond the peninsula, Hegseth told a briefing that protecting against nuclear-armed North Korea is the goal of the alliance. "But there's no doubt that flexibility for regional contingency is something we would take a look at," he said.
President Lee Jae Myung, in a meeting with Hegseth, said a key goal of his administration is achieving such "operational control" of allied forces in the event of a conflict, which could help the United States focus on other regions. "If the capabilities of our military are greatly strengthened and South Korea takes the lead in defending the Korean Peninsula, the defence burden of the United States in the Indo-Pacific region will also be reduced," Lee said. — Reuters
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