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

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:

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.

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."

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.

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

In a heated Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Sen. Tammy Duckworth grilled the proposed defense secretary over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asking him if he could name one member and how many countries were in the bloc.

During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee couldn’t name a single member of the Southeast Asian bloc.

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.

Hegseth responded at the heated Senate confirmation hearing that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia.”