Anchor: South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth met in Seoul for their annual meeting on Tuesday. Following the talks, Hegseth told reporters that he would work closely with U.S. government departments to fulfill President Donald Trump's commitment to ensure South Korea's operation of nuclear-powered submarines. Seoul's defense minister said his government will not seek its own nuclear weapons program.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 
 
Report: South Korean  Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back says his government will not pursue its own nuclear armament. 

Following the annual security consultative meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in Seoul on Tuesday, Ahn made the stance all the more clear. 

[Sound bite: Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (Korean-English as provided by onsite translator)] 
(Reporter: Do you support South Korea building its own nuclear weapons... )
Ahn: "Our commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains unwavering. The Republic of Korea is a member state of NPT [the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty] and therefore will not acquire nuclear weapons. Therefore, we will not develop any nuclear weapons here in Korea."

This came in the wake of the South Korea-U.S. summit last week, during which Trump gave Seoul the green light to operate nuclear-powered submarines. 

[Sound bite: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth] 
"We're going to work closely with the Department of State and the Department of Energy to fulfill President Trump's commitment in a deliberate manner. And I think it's a reflection of something I said, that the president wants allies to be strong. He wants our allies to have the best capabilities."
 
During the annual talks, the two sides discussed ways to modernize their military alliance.

[Sound bite: Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back (Korean-English as provided by onsite translator)] 
"Today, Secretary Hegseth and I reaffirmed the robust ROK-U.S. military alliance and the steadfast combined defense posture during the 57th ROK-U.S. security consultative meeting, the first convened since the inauguration of our new administrations."

[Sound bite: US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth] 
"Minister Ahn and I discussed practical steps we can take to modernize the alliance. And I'm greatly encouraged by Minister Ahn's commitment to increase defense spending, and to make greater investments in ROK military capabilities."

[Sound bite: Official welcoming ceremony for US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth]

Hegseth's visit comes as the U.S. seeks to modify the mission of the 28-thousand-500 U.S. troops currently stationed in South Korea in order to more effectively contain China's expanding military capabilities in the South China Sea and around Taiwan.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.