South Korea and the United States have agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual security interest, including the transfer of wartime operational control and alliance modernization.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back met with his Philippine and Norwegian counterparts in Singapore on Saturday to discuss expanding defense and defense industry cooperation.
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back will visit the United States next week to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The allies plan to discuss wartime operational control transfer and other pending security issues.
A senior Pentagon official touted US military redeployment flexibility as a 'tremendous strength' in a congressional hearing, addressing concerns over shifting THAAD assets from South Korea to the Middle East—following Seoul's expressed regrets earlier this month.
Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday for talks to strengthen trilateral maritime security cooperation, South Korea's Navy said. The meeting included Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, who held bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner. The discussions occurred amid Middle East tensions and U.S. requests for support in the Strait of Hormuz.