Colby to visit S. Korea next week; modernization of alliance expected to top agenda

▲ This Nov. 15, 2025, file photo shows Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby delivering a speech in Washington. (Yonhap)

Pentagon official-S Korea

Colby to visit S. Korea next week; modernization of alliance expected to top agenda

SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- A senior Pentagon official is set to visit South Korea early next week to possibly discuss issues ranging from South Korea's push for nuclear-powered submarines to the issue of Washington's transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul, sources said Friday.

Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge 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 defense 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.

The Pentagon official is also expected to address the importance of trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, and explain the U.S. National Security Strategy released last month.

In a social media post last month, Colby called for Asian allies to "do more" for their own defense and cited South Korea as the most recent case of allied countries stepping up to meet a "new global standard" for defense spending.

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