U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on the 4th that South Korea will take the lead in conventional defense against North Korea. He said the United States will continue to provide extended deterrence to South Korea. While reaffirming the commitment to extended deterrence to address nuclear threats from North Korea, his remarks are interpreted to mean that South Korea will have an expanded role in responding to conventional threats from the North.

At a press conference held after the 57th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan that day, Secretary Hegseth responded in this vein to a question asking, ‘Will you acknowledge and permit U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) to be used to respond to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or attacks in the East and South China Seas?’

Secretary Hegseth first stated, “Through the alliance, we have a clear resolve to safeguard stability on the Korean Peninsula and to protect South Korea.” He added, “At the same time, we are in a situation where enhancing our flexibility to deal with other contingencies in the region is necessary.” This is read as indicating the need to expand strategic flexibility so that USFK can be used not only to counter threats from North Korea but also for missions such as deterring China.

Secretary Hegseth said, “However, in responding to the North Korean threat, we will strive to ensure that no harm comes to South Korea,” and “We will continue to provide extended deterrence unwaveringly to our ally, South Korea.” He continued, “Multiple threats are emerging around the world, and the ROK and the United States will address them effectively through candid, good-faith dialogue,” adding, “Ultimately, conventional defense against the North will be led by South Korea.”

Taken together, his remarks suggest that the United States needs to expand the flexibility of USFK to respond to threats from China and others, and that, to this end, South Korea will lead the response to conventional threats from the North. However, the U.S. provision of extended deterrence to address North Korea nuclear threats will be maintained.

The United States has sought to reduce its own burden by asking allies to expand their roles as they strengthen defense capabilities. In line with this, South Korea has decided to increase its defense budget under a policy of self-reliant defense. In this context, this SCM may also have produced consensus on accelerating the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON). Once South Korea regains OPCON, its role in responding to the North will expand, and USFK would have more room to increase strategic flexibility.

At the press conference, when asked whether South Korea wants to pursue the development of nuclear weapons, Minister Ahn said, “There can be no development of nuclear weapons in South Korea.” He said, “Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is an unwavering commitment,” and “As a country that is party to the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), the Republic of Korea cannot possess nuclear weapons.”

Asked whether he wants U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to be redeployed to the Korean Peninsula, Ahn said, “Because we cannot possess nuclear weapons, please understand that the United States nuclear forces and the Republic of Korea conventional weapons have therefore established nuclear-conventional integration (CNI).” CNI is a concept of conducting extended deterrence by organically linking U.S. nuclear forces with South Korea conventional forces. This is included in the joint guidelines of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) that the two sides prepared in June of last year.