From left, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller Jules Hurst, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the FY2027 budget request in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on May 12 in Washington. [AFP/YONHAP]
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed before Congress on Tuesday that portions of the Thaad missile defense system deployed in South Korea had been transferred to the Middle East, raising fresh questions about Washington's commitment to defending its ally against North Korea.
The admission came during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing, when Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz pressed Hegseth on reports that “portions of Thaad,” otherwise known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, and surface-to-air “Patriot defense systems in South Korea were moved to the Middle East” after the two-week cease-fire between the United States and Iran was announced in early April.
Hegseth confirmed the partial transfer, but denied that the process was rushed or done prematurely, as implied by Congress.
“I can reassure you that it was all accounted for,” Hegseth said. “Every aspect of this was poured over by the joint staff, by civilian leadership and represented in pursuit of a very clear goal.”
Notably absent from his remarks, however, was any mention of consultations with South Korea.
The move signals that the United States is already applying a doctrine of strategic flexibility to its globally deployed assets — one in which even critical systems dedicated to deterring North Korea can be reassigned based on United States military priorities. Analysts warn it could be a precedent for future redeployments of key assets off the Korean Peninsula.
Thaad is a U.S.-developed mobile, anti-ballistic missile system designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their descending phase, both inside and outside the atmosphere. It is as critical part of the South Korea-U.S. layered missile defense structure that is intended to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles.
The interceptor missiles of Thaad had previously been moved in March from their deployment site in Seongju County, North Gyeongsang, to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi. At the time, they were placed on standby with the Patriot interceptors and long-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile ATACMS, apparently in preparation for potential operations against Iran. According to Hegseth's account, some of those interceptors may have been the portions of Thaad that have been transferred to the Middle East this month.
U.S. Forces Korea conduct drills to load inert rounds onto a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense launcher, otherwise known as Thaad, at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on June 2023. [YONHAP]
The fact that Hegseth described the decision as personally approved by U.S. President Donald Trump — not just the military chain of command — suggests that the President may have authorized the drawdown of Korean-based Thaad interceptors as far back as late February, around the time the United States launched “Operation Epic Fury,” its military campaign against Iran, on Feb. 28.
Trump has a history of frustration over Thaad. In his 2024 memoir, former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster recalled that Trump became extremely angry in 2017 after learning that then-presidential candidate Moon Jae-in had suggested revisiting the Thaad deployment decision. McMaster wrote that Trump believed South Korea should bear the financial burden of the system on its own. U.S. negotiators later pressed Seoul to take on Thaad-related costs during defense cost-sharing negotiations.
While South Korea has completed development of its own long-range surface-to-air missile system, actual fielding remains some time away, leaving the country partially dependent on Thaad in the interim.
The system has long carried significant political and symbolic weight. Its deployment, announced in 2016, sparked deep divisions within South Korea, fueled by residents’ safety concerns, fears over worsening ties with China, and opposition from activists wary of accelerating an arms race in East Asia. China also responded with broad economic retaliation.
If key Thaad interceptors have now been transferred to the Middle East without apparent regard for allied sensitivities, critics say the move reflects a U.S.-first calculus that sidelines alliance considerations. It would also mark the first time Thaad interceptors have been removed from the Korean Peninsula.
South Korean and U.S. officials have sought to limit concern, stressing that core elements of the Thaad system — including its launchers and radar — have not been moved. But the movement of the interceptors is raising alarms inside and outside the military as a potential sign of weakened readiness against North Korea. With the Iran conflict dragging on and the United States facing a broader ammunition shortage, there is no clear timeline for replenishing the transferred missiles.
Commander General Xavier T. Brunson speaks during a change-of-command ceremony for the United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, on Dec. 20 2024. [EPA/YONHAP]
Against this backdrop, Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, used a keynote speech Tuesday at the annual Land Forces Pacific symposium hosted by U.S. Army Pacific to urge South Korea to further bolster its defense capabilities and military support infrastructure.
Brunson said the alliance must recognize the need for greater self-reliance in collective defense and emphasized that both countries would need to share more of the security burden in the future. He pointed to Seoul’s plan to raise defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP as evidence that South Korea is becoming a more dependable and durable ally.
He also described the shift as part of a broader strategic transition focused not simply on increasing defense budgets, but on strengthening defense industrial independence. Brunson said this would require South Korea to develop a self-sustaining defense industry capable of supporting security across the wider region. His remarks were widely seen as signaling expectations for Seoul to play a larger role not only in defending against North Korea, but also in countering broader regional security threats.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
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