Shangri-La Dialogue highlights South Korea's strategic value ahead of US delegation visit

South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-baek expressed gratitude to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his positive remarks on South Korea's pragmatic diplomacy and the transfer of wartime operational control, and separately asked US lawmakers to support cooperation on nuclear-powered submarines and shipbuilding. No formal bilateral talks between Seoul and Washington took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, but analysts say the forum still yielded results by spotlighting South Korea's defense industry and other negotiating assets ahead of a US delegation visit to Seoul this week.

Yoo Ji-hoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said Monday that the significance of Minister Ahn's visit lay in elevating South Korea's strategic value even without a major agreement or joint statement. "With the United States demanding tangible contributions from its allies, this week's negotiations offer an opportunity to align specific security agenda items — including South Korea's defense industry, shipbuilding and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul)," Yoo said.

South Korea and the United States are set to hold a kickoff meeting in Seoul on Tuesday and Wednesday to follow up on security-related items from the joint fact sheet issued after the South Korea-US summit.

The South Korean side will be represented by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, along with a pan-government delegation from Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Climate and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The US side will be led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, accompanied by representatives from the White House National Security Council, the Department of State, the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.

Hegseth's positive remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue about South Korea's defense contributions and capabilities have been interpreted as a signal that Washington views Seoul not merely as a security beneficiary but as a core ally capable of playing a larger role.

That dynamic could also work in South Korea's favor when the US delegation arrives. Yoo said the nuclear-powered submarine issue goes far beyond weapons acquisition, touching on nuclear fuel, reactor safety, nonproliferation verification, operational concepts and South Korea-US technology cooperation. "Going forward, South Korea needs to frame the nuclear submarine question not only in terms of self-reliant defense, but as a contribution to strengthening the maritime deterrence of the South Korea-US alliance and to stability in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

Ahn said he briefed US lawmakers in detail on South Korea's capabilities, including the agreement reached in 2020 that 94 percent of the conditions for transferring wartime operational control had been met. He said he asked for congressional support on the transfer of operational control, nuclear-powered submarines, and shipbuilding and MRO cooperation.

Meanwhile, Hegseth posted a photo on social media showing himself standing alongside Minister Ahn and Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro. The three met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue for a brief exchange before posing for a photo.

No substantive discussions or formal meetings took place due to time constraints, but the encounter was arranged to underscore the three countries' commitment to trilateral security cooperation. While South Korean and US defense ministers have typically held bilateral talks at the Shangri-La Dialogue, this year's format took into account that Ahn had already traveled to the United States in May to meet with Hegseth.