U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) remains primarily focused on deterring North Korean aggression but will retain “flexibility” to respond to wider regional contingencies if necessary.

Hegseth made the remarks after the 57th ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) with his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-baek, responding to a question about whether the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea could be deployed in a potential conflict involving China.