Key Takeaways
- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may visit South Korea in late March for joint exercises, marking the first visit by an American minister since the Trump administration.
- The joint South Korean-American exercises, known as Freedom Shield 2025, will take place in late March, with Pete Hegseth visiting South Korean shipyards, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean.
- The visit will be an opportunity for close cooperation between Washington and Seoul in the sector of warship building, as highlighted by US President Donald Trump last November.
Washington: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may visit South Korea in late March after the joint South Korean-American exercises Freedom Shield 2025, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing sources.
Hegseth may visit a number of South Korean shipyards, including HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean, the report said on Wednesday. During a telephone conversation with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last November, US President Donald Trump highlighted South Korea’s capabilities in building advanced warships and vessels, noting the need for close cooperation between Washington and Seoul in the sector.
“We are currently in the stage of reviewing possibilities at the working level, and no official schedule discussions have taken place,” a source was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The trip will be the first visit to South Korea by an American minister since the Trump administration came to power in January, the report noted.
