Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel today flies to South Korea and Japan to affirm military ties that are entering a new chapter in the face of North Korea's threats and China's growing power.
It will be Hagel's third visit to the region as Pentagon chief, and comes as Washington presses ahead with its strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region despite growing budget pressures and repeated crises in the Middle East.
The first leg of his trip in South Korea will be filled with symbolic moments as he attends celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the alliance between the two countries, a bond that dates back to the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
Hagel on Monday is scheduled to tour the demilitarised zone between the South and North with his counterpart, Kim Kwan-Jin and watch joint US-South Korean joint exercises. On Tuesday, he is due to attend a parade marking the country's armed forces day and to hold talks with Kim.
On Wednesday, Hagel presides over a change of command ceremony for US forces in South Korea, with General James Thurman handing over to General Curtis "Mike" Scaparotti, who will take charge of the 28,500 US troops deployed in the country.
The alliance between Washington and Seoul calls for the American commander to lead South Korea's 640,000-strong force in the case of a war with the North.
The two countries have repeatedly delayed plans to transfer "operational control" to Seoul, with an original goal of 2012 pushed back to 2015. Tensions with North Korea have made Seoul cautious about a scaling back of the US role, and the South has asked Washington to review the timing of the planned transition.
President Barack Obama indicated in May that the transfer would go ahead as scheduled, but US officials have not closed the door on the issue, amid concerns over the threat posed by the North's nuclear and missile programs.
"The North Korea provocations cycle is something that Secretary Hagel has handled early in his tenure," said a senior defence official.
Days after Hagel arrived at the Pentagon, North Korea, responding to condemnation of its third atomic bomb test in February, issued dire threats and warned of a "thermonuclear war" with the United States.
The question of when operational control should be passed to the South Koreans will feature prominently in Hagel's talks with his counterpart and President Park Geun-Hye.
