Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back, left, poses for a photograph with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center, and Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro during the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30. [PROVIDED BY THE MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]
A bilateral meeting aimed at implementing South Korea-U.S. security agreements on nuclear-powered submarines, uranium enrichment and the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel is set to take place on Tuesday. The gathering comes eight months after the leaders of the two countries reached their agreement in October of last year, highlighting the uneasy state of relations between the allies.
The delay in follow-up consultations reflects several factors, including U.S. dissatisfaction over delays in Korean investment commitments and the fallout from the controversy over Seoul's efforts to investigate Coupang, a U.S.-based company, over a massive data breach, as well as geopolitical disruptions such as the war with Iran. During that period, cooperation among China, Russia and North Korea has continued to deepen. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China in May and speculation about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s impending trip to North Korea underscore the growing alignment among the three countries.
