U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on the 29th (local time) praised South Korea as a model ally in a report to the U.S. Congress, stating that exemplary allies would receive special favor from the United States.
In his opening statement submitted to a U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearing on next year’s budget, Hegseth said, “The Department of Defense is prioritizing expanding defense burden-sharing in the Indo-Pacific,” adding, “South Korea has demonstrated that it is a model ally by committing to participate in new global defense spending standards and to take the lead in defending against North Korea.”
He continued, “Our allies are not powerless. They are nations capable of doing far more on their own than they have so far,” and added, “Now is the time for them to step up, and some already are.”
He also emphasized, “Exemplary allies that are taking the lead—such as Israel, South Korea, Poland, Finland, and the Baltic states—will receive our special favor,” warning that “allies that do not, and that still fail to fulfill their share of collective defense, will face the consequences.”
Since the start of the second Trump administration, South Korea has decided to increase its defense spending to around 3.5% of GDP and is also pursuing the transfer of wartime operational control. Accordingly, senior U.S. Department of Defense officials have repeatedly referred to South Korea as a model ally, and Hegseth has reiterated this rhetoric.
Posted by Freewhale98
5 Comments
DUI hire.
I really admire the South Korean approach to diplomacy
>have to deal with megalomaniac
>read his book religiously and prepare detailed notes on his previous interactions
I’m sure other countries tried similarly but the thought of a number of South Korean government personnel arguing over interpretations of the Art of the Deal in preparation for a meeting makes me laugh and have incredible amounts of cringe.
1. Summary
Pete Hegseth praises Korea for being a “model ally” for increased defense spending along side Israel. Also, he welcomed Korea’s efforts to retrieve OPCOM from US-controlled United Nations Command.
2. How is this related to the sub
(1) American view on alliance: The US defense official revealed what Americans think of “model ally”. Heavy defense spending to buy US weapons while requiring no backup from the US.
Model ally? But what about everyone’s favorite American business COUPANG® which is currently being harassed by the South Korean government? How can we let them do this to COUPANG, which is American as apple pie, and call them allies? I know I for one have called my congressmen about this unacceptable affront to American COUPANG.
#Coupang #MadeInUSA
Great news at least in relation to one ally