U.S. Defense Secretary Excludes South Korea From Indo-Pacific Itinerary

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has excluded South Korea from his itinerary for the trip to the Indo-Pacific region.

According to government officials on the 14th, Secretary Hegseth's visit to South Korea, which was initially expected later this month, has been canceled. Secretary Hegseth is reported to visit Guam, Hawaii, and various locations in Japan soon. South Korea was also supposed to be included in the itinerary, but it was canceled. If Secretary Hegseth had visited, it could have marked the first case of a cabinet-level official visiting South Korea since the inauguration of the Donald Trump administration.

Analysis suggests that the background of his canceled visit is the political uncertainty within South Korea, where not only the President but also the Minister of National Defense have been maintained in an acting capacity. There was growing expectation that if Secretary Hegseth visited, it would serve as an opportunity to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, particularly in the areas of shipbuilding and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO), which the U.S. is focusing on. However, concerns have been raised that the visit has been postponed due to domestic political conditions.

Earlier, shortly after the emergency martial law situation on Dec. 3 last year, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin from the Biden administration also canceled his planned visit to South Korea.