Hegseth Skips South Korea Visit as Leadership Vacuum Takes Toll

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(Bloomberg) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has pushed back a Seoul visit he has been eyeing for as early as this month as political uncertainty continues in South Korea after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s shock martial law declaration. 

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“His South Korea visit had been under discussion between the two countries but its postponement was unavoidable due to scheduling on the US side,” South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-gyu said during a regular briefing Monday, referring to the Pentagon chief.  

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The postponement of Hegseth’s trip to Seoul gives the impression that Donald Trump’s administration may be reluctant to engage with South Korea while a leadership vacuum continues there. The nation is waiting for a decision over the coming days in Yoon’s impeachment trial and whether he will return to his presidential duties or if an election will take place.

Hegseth’s skipping of Seoul is another setback for South Korea after Washington’s unforeseen designation of the Asian ally as a “sensitive country” for energy cooperation.

“There’s no point in any diplomatic efforts if your counterpart doesn’t acknowledge you,” said Kim Jung, a political science professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, referring to the limitations Acting President Choi Sang-mok faces. “A certain degree of diplomatic fallout is inevitable for South Korea.” 

The postponement of the trip follows a decision by the previous Biden administration in January to add South Korea to the lowest category of the Department of Energy’s Sensitive Country List, a move that will go into effect next month, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News. 

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South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it is taking the development very seriously and is in close communications with the US over the matter. 

The DOE website says countries on the list are given “particular consideration” in the approvals process for access by their nationals and may be added to the list for national security, nuclear nonproliferation or terrorism support reasons.

It’s not immediately clear what led to the US decision to add South Korea to the list. But it comes after more South Korean politicians called for the nation to move closer to the threshold of producing its own nuclear weapons after Trump’s election victory. 

South Korea’s addition to the list is a blow to the country whose alliance with the US has been touted as the “linchpin” of security in the region.

South Korea’s top diplomat, Cho Tae-yul, said his government didn’t get a prior notice on the decision until it reached out to the US after learning of the move via an “unofficial channel.”

Choi, the interim leader of South Korea, ordered the country’s industry minister to meet with Energy Secretary Chris Wright for consultations this week and other government agencies to actively reach out to the US to minimize any impact on their bilateral energy cooperation. 

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The back-to-back blows come after Yoon was impeached and suspended from duties for his short-lived martial law declaration in December. The Constitutional Court has yet to announce when it will deliver a ruling to decide his fate.

While South Korea remains in limbo without a clear policy direction, North Korea has been accelerating its nuclear ambitions with leader Kim Jong Un emerging as a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine. 

Over the weekend, multiple warplanes from Russia entered an air identification zone maintained by Seoul, underscoring the security challenge Seoul faces while Kim bolsters ties with Moscow. 

The air zone is an area where aircraft are supposed to identify themselves as they draw near it. The Russian jets did not enter South Korea’s territorial air space and said they were conducting exercises, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

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