US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to visit the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas and meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during his two-day trip to Seoul next week, marking his first visit to the country since taking office earlier this year.

The South Korea leg concludes Hegseth’s multi-nation Asia tour, which includes stops in Japan, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Upon arrival, he will be joined by South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back for a joint visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA) within the DMZ, where they will meet South Korean and US troops. This marks the first joint visit by the defense chiefs of both nations since 2017, when then-Defense Secretary James Mattis and Korean counterpart Song Young-moo toured the area.

The highlight of Hegseth’s Seoul visit will be the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), scheduled for November 4 at the Ministry of National Defense. Discussions are expected to center on alliance modernization, defense spending, and South Korea’s assumption of greater responsibility for its conventional defense against North Korea.

According to a senior US defense official, the talks will also cover expanded defense industrial cooperation, Seoul’s efforts to regain wartime operational control, and Washington’s call for a more balanced security burden-sharing arrangement. Following the SCM, Hegseth and Ahn are expected to announce new initiatives to deepen defense collaboration between the two allies.

During his stay, Hegseth will visit Camp Humphreys, the largest US military base overseas, located about 65 kilometers south of Seoul, to meet American service members and their families.

The trip underscores Washington’s broader effort to strengthen deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, particularly amid rising tensions with China. The Pentagon has been urging its regional allies to take greater roles in maintaining collective security as the US seeks to bolster its forward defense posture.

In Japan, Hegseth will meet Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi to discuss enhanced command structures and joint exercises. In Malaysia, he will participate in the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), followed by meetings in Vietnam with Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and senior officials to reinforce regional partnerships and deterrence strategy.