SEOUL, Jan 23 (Reuters) – U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for policy Elbridge Colby will visit South Korea from Sunday to Tuesday and discuss military alliance issues before travelling on to Japan, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Friday.
His talks with South Korean officials will likely touch on Seoul’s proposed increase in defence spending and the modernisation of the two countries’ military alliance, Yonhap said, citing an unnamed source.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry declined to confirm the report, saying questions should be directed to the U.S. side.
Colby, the Pentagon’s top defence and foreign policymaker, leads the implementation of U.S. defence strategy.
The two countries have been discussing President Donald Trump’s push for U.S. allies to shoulder a greater share of their defence cost and Washington’s realignment of its military footprint to ready its troops stationed around the world for wider missions.
South Korea hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops in combined defence against North Korea’s military threat. Seoul raised its defence budget by 7.5% for this year.
South Korea is pursuing the construction if its own nuclear-powered submarines, a plan Trump has backed.
(Reporting by Jack KimEditing by Ed Davies)
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