South Korea and US to Split Security Meeting Between December and Early Next Year, First Time in 28 Years

The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States held their first in-person talks in Cebu, the Philippines, on October 28, agreeing to convene a bilateral meeting in Washington this December, followed by the 58th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), an annual gathering of the two countries' defense ministers to coordinate security issues, in early next year.

It is the first time in 28 years, since 1998, that the SCM has been carried over into a new year. The U.S. Department of Defense explained that the meeting was postponed by mutual agreement because the two leaders' schedules did not align.

South Korean Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, who took office on the 22nd of last month, met U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time at the talks. The meeting had originally been scheduled for 15 minutes but ran for about 40 minutes with simultaneous interpretation.