The South Korea-U. S. defense ministers’ meeting held in Washington on Monday starkly illustrated the changing trajectory of the alliance in recent months. With a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping looming, the focus should have been on reaffirming coordination against North Korea’s nuclear threat and the allies’ commitment to security cooperation on the Korean Peninsula. Yet discussions on North Korea’s nuclear program were nowhere to be found.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth welcomes Korea's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back during a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington on May 11. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
The joint statement merely noted, in generic terms, that the two sides “discussed key alliance issues, including the transition of wartime operational control (Opcon) and alliance modernization.” The failure to even reaffirm the “concern over North Korea’s advancing nuclear capabilities” shared at last November’s Security Consultative Meeting marked a clear step backward. One is left wondering why South Korea's Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back made the trip to Washington at all.
Instead, front and center in the talks was Washington’s call for Seoul to support U.S. military operations against Iran. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s remark, referencing attacks on South Korean vessels, that “we expect partners to stand shoulder to shoulder” went beyond mere rhetoric and amounted to unmistakable pressure. Particularly notable was the fact that wartime Opcon transfer — an issue on which the two countries have long differed over timing — was addressed only in broad terms.
Signs are also emerging that South Korea is being sidelined on the diplomatic front. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Japan, as well as the finance and economy ministers, pledging U.S.-Japan cooperation on exchange rates and discussing energy and critical mineral supply chains. On Wednesday, he is set to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Seoul. Although he is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call to President Lee Jae Myung, it is highly unusual for a visiting top U.S. economic official not to meet his South Korean counterparts, including Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol.
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, right, hosts Korean Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-back for an honor cordon ceremony in Arlington, Virginia, on May 11. [GETTY IMAGES/YONHAP]
This goes beyond a mere diplomatic slight. It could also be interpreted as evidence that South Korea’s strategic value is slipping down Washington’s list of priorities. The concern is serious enough to raise questions about whether the upcoming U.S.-China summit could produce a compromise over North Korea’s nuclear issue without Seoul’s position being properly reflected — or even lead to sudden direct contact between Washington and Pyongyang.
The cracks now appearing in the South Korea-U. S. alliance are far from normal. If they are not corrected early, the price South Korea may have to pay amid mounting global uncertainty will only grow larger. What is urgently needed is the government’s clear-eyed assessment of the situation and the effective exercise of substantive diplomatic capabilities.
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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