U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary to Visit South Korea at Month’s End... Defense Budget Increase Expected to Be Discussed

Successive Visits to South Korea and Japan
Discussing Alliance-Related Issues

Elbridge Colby, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense for Policy, is reportedly planning to visit South Korea and Japan in succession at the end of this month to discuss alliance-related issues.

Elbridge Colby, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development, who is mentioned as a potential National Security Advisor in the second term if former President Donald Trump regains power, is interviewed by Yonhap News Agency on May 6, 2024 (local time) at his think tank office in Washington DC. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to government officials on the 7th, the United States is coordinating schedules and agendas with the relevant authorities in both countries regarding Deputy Secretary Colby’s tour of South Korea and Japan. Colby is considered a close aide to President Donald Trump and a key figure in security policy.

If Deputy Secretary Colby’s visit to South Korea is confirmed, discussions are expected to focus on topics related to the modernization of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, including an increase in South Korea’s defense budget, the transfer of wartime operational control, and the construction of nuclear-powered submarines.

Deputy Secretary Colby is also expected to brief South Korea and Japan on the new National Security Strategy (NSS) of the Trump administration, which was announced on the 5th of last month.

On the 9th of last month, he explained the purpose of the new National Security Strategy on his social networking service (SNS), emphasizing that Asian allies must make greater efforts for their own defense in order to maintain stability in the Indo-Pacific region.