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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on June 22, 2025. (Andrew Harnik via Getty Images)
Frank Aum is the senior expert on Northeast Asia at the United States Institute of Peace. Prior to that, he worked at the Department of Defense, including as special counsel to the Army General Counsel, special assistant to the assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, and senior advisor on the Korean Peninsula in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.