Joint statement issued after 28th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue

The U.S. Department of War and the Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense held the 28th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue in Washington on May 12–13, 2026.

The U.S. delegation was led by Mr. John Noh, assistant secretary of war for Indo-Pacific security affairs, and Dr. Jay Finch, acting deputy assistant secretary of war for East Asia. The ROK delegation was headed by Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Mr. Kim Hong-Cheol. Additional senior defense and foreign affairs officials from both governments also took part.

Over two days, the sides reviewed overall defense cooperation within the Alliance and exchanged views on policy directions to strengthen the combined defense posture. They agreed to pursue cooperation to implement defense initiatives outlined in the Joint Fact Sheet between the U.S. and ROK presidents last November and the 57th Security Consultative Meeting Joint Communique.

Both delegations assessed the dialogue as laying a foundation for practical cooperation to further solidify the Alliance and expressed an intent to deepen collaboration to achieve shared security goals on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific region.