ANKARA

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday praised South Korea’s efforts to regain wartime operational control (OPCON) of its forces from the US, calling it a "great" move, according to Yonhap News.

Speaking to reporters on his flight to Malaysia, Hegseth also praised Seoul’s willingness to boost defense spending, calling it "critically important too."

"I think it's great. (The) more capabilities for our allies, the better. We've been strong allies for many, many decades. That has not changed," he said.

South Korea is one of the US’ oldest and closest allies, hosting around 28,500 American soldiers on the Korean Peninsula, while the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff holds peacetime OPCON and the US-led Combined Forces Command holds operational control during war.

During the 1950-1953 Korean War, South Korea placed operational control of its forces under the US-led UN Command. In 1978, that authority was shifted to the allies’ Combined Forces Command.

While wartime operational control has since remained with the US, South Korea regained peacetime control of its military in 1994.

Earlier this month, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed to take back wartime operational control of the country’s troops from the US.

Hegseth also dismissed reports that the Pentagon’s new national defense strategy might exclude South Korea from its defense line, calling them “inaccurate,” saying that Washington is not seeking a NATO-style multilateral alliance in the Indo-Pacific.

Hegseth is expected to meet his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu-back next week in Seoul as he is on an Asia trip that includes Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, and South Korea.