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US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby is set to visit South Korea early next week to probably discuss issues like South Korea's push for nuclear-powered submarines and the issue of the US' transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul, sources told Yonhap News Agency on Friday.
Colby is expected to make a three-day visit to Seoul through Tuesday on a trip to Asia that also includes a stop in Japan, according to the sources. Alliance issues, such as a hike in South Korea's defence spending, the conditions-based handover of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea and Seoul's push to build a nuclear-powered submarine, are likely to be discussed in his upcoming trip. He is also expected to address the importance of trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan, and explain the US National Security Strategy that was released last month. In a social media post last month, Colby called for Asian allies to "do more" for their own defence and cited South Korea as the most recent case of allied countries stepping up to meet a "new global standard" for defence spending, as per Yonhap News Agency. Colby made the remarks in a social media post on December 8, as Seoul has committed to increasing defence spending to 3.5 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) as soon as possible in accordance with Korea's legal requirements. Colby posted a series of messages on X, explaining a new US National Security Strategy (NSS), reaffirming US President Donald Trump's America First principles, and urging allies and partners to contribute "much more" to "collective defence." "Crucially, ensuring stability in the Indo-Pacific will require our Asian allies to do more for their own defence," he wrote. (ANI)
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