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Top military officers of Korea, U.S. to meet amid USFK role change speculation

Published: 10 Jul. 2025, 13:14

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo speaks to soldiers during a drill on July 4. [NEWS1]

The top military officers of South Korea and the United States were set to meet in Seoul on Thursday to discuss their countries' bilateral alliance amid speculation over a possible change in the role of U.S. troops stationed here.

The meeting between Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Adm. Kim Myung-soo and his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Dan Caine, comes a day ahead of their regular meeting with their Japanese counterpart, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, that will take place at the South's JCS headquarters Friday, according to officials.

A military official said the trilateral gathering is expected to focus on security cooperation between the three countries and North Korea's military threats.

Caine's visit marks the first visit to South Korea by the highest-ranking U.S. military officer since his predecessor, Ret. Gen. CQ Brown, visited Seoul in November 2023.

Thursday's meeting comes at a time when the United States has been pressing allies to hike their defense spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product.

It also comes amid continued speculation that Washington may cut the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea or redefine its role to prioritize deterring Chinese threats.

During a Senate confirmation hearing in April, Caine said he will "assess the U.S. military presence in Japan and South Korea, and make recommendations" to the U.S. defense secretary and the president, when asked about how U.S. troop reductions in South Korea and Japan would affect the security situation in the Indo-Pacific should such reductions proceed.

Kim, meanwhile, is expected to hold bilateral talks with Yoshida on the sidelines of the Trilateral Chiefs of Defense (Tri-Chod) meeting later in the day.

The three leaders last met for the Tri-Chod gathering in Tokyo last year.

Yonhap