SEOUL, March 15 (AJP) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will skip South Korea during his first official tour of the Indo-Pacific region.
Hegseth plans to visit Guam, Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines later this month, according to Pentagon officials on Friday. A potential stop in Seoul was considered but later excluded, reportedly due to political instability stemming from South Korea’s impeachment crisis.
This trip is significant as it marks the first Asia-Pacific tour by a senior official from President Donald Trump's second administration. It is widely speculated that skipping Seoul could signal caution about engaging with a country embroiled in domestic uncertainty. Currently, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol remains suspended from office pending impeachment proceedings, and the defense ministry operates under interim leadership.
Had Hegseth included South Korea, discussions would likely have included matters of military cooperation and regional security concerns.
The next opportunity for high-level bilateral defense discussions appears to be the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum, scheduled for late May in Singapore.
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