Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
S. Korea, US defense chiefs visit JSA ahead of talks on nuclear subs, OPCON transfer
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, left, shakes hands with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during their visit to the conference hall at the Joint Security Area (JSA) in Panmunjeom, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
By Bahk Eun-ji
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a joint visit to the Joint Security Area (JSA) at the truce village of Panmunjeom on Monday, marking the first such appearance by the defense chiefs of the two allies in eight years.
The visit took place one day before the 57th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in Seoul, where both sides are expected to review the alliance’s key security agenda, including South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program and the long-awaited transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).
Ahn and Hegseth had earlier met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday during the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus, where they discussed follow-up measures to last month’s summit between Presidents Lee Jae Myung and Donald Trump.
Hegseth arrived in Korea over the weekend for a two-day visit, which included the JSA tour alongside Ahn. The joint appearance followed last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, where a potential U.S.-North Korea summit did not take place.
The two defense chiefs met in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and toured the JSA for about an hour, accompanied by senior U.S. and South Korean military commanders.
According to Seoul officials, Hegseth said he was honored to visit “a symbolic site of the Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance” and expressed appreciation for the joint security operations he observed.
Ahn greeted Hegseth upon arrival and asked if he was tired from travel, to which Hegseth replied with a smile, “I’m fine.”
During their visit to Panmunjeom, the two ministers emphasized peace, dialogue and stability on the Korean Peninsula rather than a confrontational stance toward Pyongyang.
After the tour, Ahn told reporters that Hegseth was impressed by the combined patrols of South Korean and U.S. troops in the demilitarized zone.
“He said he had imagined the border as a straight line but was surprised by the valleys and forests separating the two Koreas,” Ahn said, adding that the U.S. secretary was also struck by how close the South's Daeseong-dong village and the North’s Kijong-dong village were to each other.
Ahn quoted Hegseth as describing the JSA as both “the frontline of division and a place of dialogue,” reflecting its dual meaning for the alliance.
When asked about the prospects for renewed U.S.-North Korea talks, Ahn said, “That was not the purpose of the visit,” adding that their joint appearance itself sent “a strong message of alliance solidarity.”
After completing the Panmunjeom schedule, Hegseth traveled to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to meet U.S. service members before preparing for Tuesday’s SCM.
The annual meeting, first launched in 1968, serves as the highest-level defense policy consultation between Seoul and Washington.
This year’s session marks the first formal in-person meeting between the current defense chiefs since the Lee Jae Myung administration and the second Donald Trump presidency were launched. The agenda includes discussions on extended deterrence, combined defense readiness, regional security, and cooperation in space and missile defense.
A major focus will be progress toward the transfer of wartime operational control of the South’s military. South Korea’s military ceded wartime OPCON to the U.S. during the 1950-53 Korean War. While Seoul regained peacetime operational control in 1994, critical authority over combat operations remains with Washington.
South Korea is currently in the second phase of a three-step assessment process known as Full Operational Capability and aims to complete this stage during next year’s joint military exercises.
Ahn plans to reaffirm the Lee administration’s goal of achieving the transition within its term, while Hegseth has previously described the initiative as “a commendable effort,” suggesting continued U.S. support.
The two sides are also set to review the details of the nuclear submarine program that was approved during the recent summit between Lee and Trump.