John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said of Hegseth's remarks on North Korea's status as a nuclear power: "We've not made such a recognition. I can't speak to what the incoming team will—how they'll characterize it. We've not gone so far as to make that recognition."

If I had beene one of the senators questioning Pete Hegseth during his confirmation hearing, this is what I would have asked:

Trump defense secretary nominee Pete Hesgeth ruffled feathers in S. Korea with his written statement to the Senate panel overseeing his confirmation

A senator told Hegseth: "I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."

Seoul stressed Wednesday that Pyongyang cannot hold nuclear state status, rejecting U.S. defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's reference to the North as a "nuclear power."

Pete Hegseth seems destined to become America's 29th secretary of defense. Despite the hyperbole and exaggerations of Hegseth's fitness to serve, he is arguably the least qualified person to hold that office.

From the arrest of South Korea’s Yoon to a Japanese pop star’s sex scandal, here are a few highlights from SCMP’s recent Asia reporting.

Tammy Duckworth, grilling President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary over whether he had the “breadth and depth of knowledge” needed to lead international negotiations, asked Pete Hegseth ... have allies in South Korea and Japan ...

Seoul says North Korea ‘can never be recognised as a nuclear-armed state’ under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, referred to North Korea as a “nuclear power” in a written statement for Tuesday’s confirmation hearing – shattering a longstanding taboo by granting such a designation to Kim Jong-un’s regime and drawing considerable attention in Seoul.

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth will ... based worldwide. Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with ...