US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday the United States is "not blind" to North Korean threats, stressing that Seoul and Washington have shared interests about how the allies look at the threat and security challenges in a broader regional context.
Hegseth made the remarks during a press availability on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur, responding to a question from Yonhap News Agency about whether he has a message for North Korea during his upcoming visit to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas.
"I won't preview what that message will be specifically, and a lot of that is at President Trump's level to determine," he said. "But we certainly understand that threat. We're not blind to it."
The secretary reiterated that US President Donald Trump has said "time and time again" that he is open to dialogue with North Korea at a leader level.
"Obviously, our alliance with South Korea is longstanding, and I look forward to (the trip to Korea). It'll be my first visit there," he said. "And we've got a lot of shared interests about how we look at that threat, but also the threats of the region."
Hegseth plans to visit the DMZ with South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back on Monday, the first day of his two-day trip to Korea. The following day, he is set to attend the allies' annual defense ministerial talks, called the Security Consultative Meeting. (Yonhap)
