Pentagon Strategy Calls for South Korea to Lead North Korea Deterrence With More Limited U.S. Role

The Pentagon’s new unclassified national defense strategy, titled "Restoring peace through strength for a new golden age of America," says South Korea should assume primary responsibility for deterring North Korea, with the United States providing "critical but more limited" support. The document argues that South Korea’s conscription-based force, rising defense budget — up 7.5% this year — and domestic arms industry make it capable and willing to take the lead against the North, even as about 28,500 U.S. troops remain stationed on the peninsula. Framed under a broader push to "increase burden-sharing" with allies, the strategy also emphasizes prioritizing homeland defense and deterring China "through strength, not confrontation," while describing Russia as a "persistent but manageable" threat to NATO’s eastern flank and reiterating President Trump’s pledge to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The plan explicitly rejects "interventionism, endless wars, regime change, and nation building" while insisting it is not isolationist, signaling a shift in how Washington intends to allocate forces and expectations across its alliances.