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<\/p>\nThe United States says it intends to play a “more limited” role in deterring nuclear-powered North Korea, shifting the burden of responsibility onto South Korea.<\/p>\n
The change of strategy came in a Pentagon policy document released on Friday, in a move likely to raise concerns in Seoul.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un approved the launching of multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters.<\/p>\n
South Korea hosts about 28,500 US troops in combined defence against North Korea’s military threat, with Seoul raising its defence budget by 7.5 per cent for this year.<\/p>\n
“South Korea is capable of taking primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but more limited US support,” said the National Defense Strategy, a document that guides the Pentagon’s policies.<\/p>\n
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US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (left) has applauded South Korea’s plans to spend more on its military.\u00a0 (Reuters: Idrees Ali)<\/p>\n
“This shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with America’s interest in updating US force posture on the Korean Peninsula.”<\/p>\n
In recent years, some US officials have signalled a desire to make US forces in South Korea more flexible to potentially operate outside the Korean Peninsula.<\/p>\n
That would be in response to a broader range of threats, such as defending Taiwan and checking China’s growing military reach.<\/p>\n
Even though it has resisted the idea of shifting the role of US troops, South Korea has worked to grow its own defence capabilities over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n
On a visit to Seoul last November, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised South Korea’s plans to increase its military spending.<\/p>\n
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South Korea has increased its defence spending by more than 35 per cent in the past 10 years. (AP:\u00a0Kim Hong-ji)<\/p>\n
With a current troop strength of about 450,000, Seoul has the goal of being able to take on a war-time command of the combined US-South Korean forces.<\/p>\n
The wide-ranging document, which each new administration publishes, said the Pentagon’s priority was defending the homeland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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