Security Consultative Meeting

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will travel to Asia this week, including South Korea, to stress the need for allies to boost defense spending and contribute to collective defense. The Pentagon said Hegseth will praise South Korea's commitment to increasing defense spending and taking greater responsibility for alliance deterrence during the annual Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul on Nov. 4. This comes amid intensifying U.S.-China rivalry and North Korea's nuclear advances.