Washington: The Pentagon said Wednesday it does not have any travel plans to announce, following a news report that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering the possibility of a trip to South Korea next month.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a Pentagon spokesperson made the remarks after the U.S. side was reported to have informed South Korea that the secretary would potentially visit Seoul after the South Korea-U.S. combined Freedom Shield military exercise concludes in mid-March. "We don't have any travel to announce right now," the spokesperson communicated to Yonhap News Agency via email.
Seoul and Washington have maintained an understanding that the Pentagon chief will visit South Korea if and when he embarks on a trip to the Indo-Pacific region, though no definitive decision has been reached, as per a source.
Should Hegseth make the trip to South Korea, it would represent the first visit to the Asian ally by a Cabinet-level U.S. official since the inception of the second Donald Trump administration last month.