May 11 meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Hegses
As Seoul and Washington remain at odds over major issues such as the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek is set to make an unannounced visit to the United States. The Defense Ministry announced on May 9 that Ahn will travel to the U.S. from May 10 to 14. This marks his first trip to the United States since taking office in July last year. On May 11 (local time), Ahn will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegses in Washington, D.C. He is also scheduled to meet the acting Navy secretary, the chair and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the chair of the Seapower Subcommittee, and other senior U.S. officials and congressional leaders.
A Defense Ministry official said the visit aims to use senior-level channels to review follow-up actions from the ROK-U.S. summit and the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM). The official added that the OPCON transfer and plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines will be key items on the agenda.
The trip draws scrutiny because it comes amid a cluster of sensitive issues: the OPCON transfer, bilateral cooperation on building nuclear-powered submarines, South Korea’s potential contribution to freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. restrictions on sharing satellite intelligence about North Korea.
The Lee Jae-myung administration is weighing 2028 as the target year for OPCON transfer. At last year’s SCM, the two defense ministers agreed to draft a roadmap to meet transfer conditions and to complete the second of three verification phases within this year.
But a recent congressional hearing exposed a timeline gap: U.S. Forces Korea commander Xavier Brunson cited the first quarter of 2029 as a target date, underscoring differing expectations between the allies.
Follow-up talks on items agreed by the two presidents — including cooperation on building nuclear-powered submarines — have yet to pick up momentum. The dynamics intensified after the U.S. urged South Korea to help reopen transit through the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump has also publicly criticized Seoul, citing an inflated figure of 45,000 for U.S. troop levels in South Korea.
Observers will watch whether the meeting between the two defense chiefs can produce a turning point on alliance issues. Ahn is expected to press the nuclear-submarine issue during his meeting with the acting Navy secretary.
Meanwhile, during Ahn’s visit, Washington will host the deputy-minister-level Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) on May 12–13. KIDD will address security matters including OPCON, but Ahn’s separate presence signals an effort to create an inflection point through high-level talks.
As ROK-U.S. issues have piled up, senior South Korean diplomatic and security officials have been traveling to Washington. In late April, Jeong Yeon-du, director of the Foreign Ministry’s Strategic Intelligence Office, and Cho Hyun-woo, the Blue House’s national security strategy secretary, visited Washington, D.C.
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