Seoul, Nov 4 (EFE).- U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suggested on Tuesday that the U.S. Armed Forces in South Korea (USFK) could assume a broader role in the region and not just focus on the threats from North Korea. "The flexibility (of the USFK) to handle regional contingencies is something we definitely have to consider, although we are here to ensure that North Korea is not a threat to South Korea," Hegseth said during a press conference in Seoul when asked about the possibility of the USFK participating in situations such as a potential crisis in Taiwan, which China does not rule out invading. Hegseth made the statements alongside South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back after the 57th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), the most important annual defense forum between the two countries. The proposal for "strategic flexibility" is part of the alliance's modernization agenda, a concept that contemplates possible changes in the deployment of the 28,500 USFK troops, an increase in South Korean defense spending, and a review of cost-sharing, among other points. The U.S. military contingent in South Korea is the second largest in Asia and the third globally, after Japan with about 52,000 troops and Germany with nearly 35,000. The expansion of the USFK's role is a delicate point for Seoul, as it could strain its relations with China, its main trading partner. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a press conference after concluding the 57th Security Consultative Meeting at the Ministry of Defense in Seoul, South Korea, on November 4, 2025. Hegseth, on the other hand, expressed his support for South Korea's initiative to develop a nuclear-powered submarine, following the approval announced by U.S. President Donald Trump last Thursday after meeting the day before with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae-myung in South Korea. The Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday during a presidential cabinet meeting that Seoul could launch the submarine in the second half of the 2030s with its own technology, according to the local Yonhap news agency. The Secretary of Defense also praised Seoul's commitment to increasing its defense spending, highlighting it as a sign of the strengthening of the alliance. South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, for his part, reaffirmed that Seoul will maintain its commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula and ruled out any plans to develop its own nuclear weapons, in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Hegseth later met with Lee and stated that he is "proud of Korea's efforts to increase its defense budget and strengthen its capabilities," according to a statement from the office of presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung, while expressing his desire to "strengthen cooperation in shipbuilding with Korea." The South Korean president, for his part, argued that "the U.S. defense burden in the Indo-Pacific region" will decrease as South Korea takes the "lead" in the defense of the Korean peninsula.
