The Pentagon announced on Saturday that Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby will visit South Korea and Japan this weekend, following the release of the new National Defense Strategy (NDS). The trip aims to advance President Donald Trump's 'peace through strength' agenda, discussing burden-sharing and potential adjustments to U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula. In response, President Lee Jae Myung stressed that achieving self-reliant defense is the 'most basic of basics.'
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Saturday, January 25, 2026, that Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby will visit South Korea and Japan this weekend, one day after releasing the new National Defense Strategy (NDS) on Friday. The trip advances President Donald Trump's "peace through strength" agenda, highlighting the Indo-Pacific region's importance and alliances with South Korea and Japan. A Pentagon press release stated, "This visit underscores the critical importance of the Indo-Pacific region and our alliances with the Republic of Korea and Japan."
The NDS specifies that South Korea is capable of taking "primary" responsibility to deter North Korea with "critical, but more limited" U.S. support, aligning with U.S. interests in "updating" its force posture on the Korean Peninsula. It reflects the Trump administration's focus on deterring Chinese threats under the "America First" policy. In May 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tasked Colby with drafting the NDS to prioritize ally burden-sharing and Indo-Pacific deterrence. The strategy aligns with the White House's National Security Strategy released in December 2025.
Colby is expected to stay in South Korea for three days through Tuesday, meeting senior Korean defense and security officials to discuss alliance issues, including Seoul's push for nuclear-powered submarines, retaking wartime operational control (OPCON) from the U.S., and commitments to increase defense spending. He may also brief officials in Seoul and Tokyo on the NDS.
In response, President Lee Jae Myung posted on X on Saturday that "in the midst of an unstable international security situation, achieving self-reliant defense is the most basic of basics." He noted South Korea's defense spending is 1.4 times North Korea's GDP and it holds the world's fifth-largest military, making self-defense inconceivable otherwise. "A robust self-reliant defense and peace on the Korean Peninsula will enable sustainable economic growth," Lee added. South Korea plans to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP as soon as possible and achieve OPCON handover by the end of Lee's term in 2030.
Analysts view the NDS as signaling a USFK posture "upgrade," pressuring South Korea to bolster conventional defenses while the U.S. maintains its nuclear umbrella. Ellen Kim of the Korea Economic Institute told Yonhap, "The U.S. will focus on providing critical strategic assets... to help South Korea deter and defend against North Korea's nuclear and other WMD threats." Nam Chang-hee, a professor at Inha University, said it "guarantees the nuclear umbrella while South Korea undertakes the conventional capability part." Notably, the NDS omits any mention of North Korea's denuclearization goal.
