On Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commended South Korea’s initiative to increase its military expenditure, emphasizing its importance in countering threats from North Korea.

The United States has long encouraged South Korea to enhance its conventional defense capabilities, allowing Washington to shift more focus toward addressing challenges posed by China.

Following annual security discussions with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back in Seoul, Hegseth expressed optimism about South Korea’s commitment to bolstering its defense budget and investing in its military strength.

He noted that the partnership between the two nations would strengthen South Korea’s ability to independently manage conventional deterrence against North Korean aggression.

During a joint press conference after the 57th Security Consultative Meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Hegseth and Ahn Gyu-back addressed the media, highlighting their collaborative efforts. (AP)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in a speech to parliament Tuesday, asked lawmakers to approve an 8.2% increase in defense spending next year. The president said the increase in spending would help modernize the military’s weapons systems and reduce its reliance on the U.S.

Hegseth noted defense cooperation on repairing and maintaining U.S. warships in South Korea, stressing that the activities harness South Korea’s shipbuilding capabilities and “ensure our most lethal capabilities remain ready to respond to any crisis.”

“We face, as we both acknowledge, a dangerous security environment, but our alliance is stronger than ever,” Hegseth said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, second from left, and South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, center, visit the Observation Post Ouellette near the border village of Panmunjom, South Korea, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. (AP)

Hegseth said the South Korea-U.S. alliance is primarily meant to respond to potential North Korean aggression, but other regional threats must also be addressed.

“There’s no doubt flexibility for regional contingencies is something we would take a look at, but we are focused on standing by our allies here and ensuring the threat of the [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] is not a threat to the Republic of Korea and certainly continue to extend nuclear deterrence as we have before,” he said.

In recent years, the U.S. and South Korea have discussed how to integrate U.S. nuclear weapons and South Korean conventional weapons.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, shakes hands with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back for a photo at the 57th Security Consultative Meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP)

South Korea has no nuclear weapons, and Ahn denied speculation that it could eventually seek its own nuclear weapons program or that it is pushing for redeployment of U.S. tactical weapon weapons that were removed from South Korea in the 1990s.

Earlier Tuesday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the country detected North Korea test-firing around 10 rounds of artillery toward its western waters on Monday, shortly before Hegseth arrived at an inter-Korean border village with Ahn to begin his two-day visit to South Korea.

Hegseth visited the Demilitarized Zone on the border with North Korea earlier in the week.