Korea, U.S. to hold high-level defense talks in Washington next week

South Korea and the United States plan to hold an annual high-level defense meeting in Washington next week to build up their deterrence plan against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, the Ministry of National Defense here said Wednesday.

The two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue will kick off on Monday and bring together South Korea's Defense Deputy Minister for policy Yoo Jeh-seung and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear, along with Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and Elaine Bunn, deputy assistant secretary for nuclear and missile defense policy.

The South Korean foreign ministry's director-general for North America Yeo Seung-bae and U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim will also join the bilateral talks.

The focus of the forthcoming dialogue will be on building up the allies' joint policies to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile intimidation and provocations, the ministry said.

As part of the efforts, the officials will further develop their so-called 4D Operational Concept and relevant implementation guidelines.

The alliance plan encompasses joint operations to detect, disrupt, destroy and defend against North Korea's potential nuclear and missile attacks, including the option to launch a preemptive attack on key military facilities in the communist country.

Also high on the agenda are ways to prepare for the smooth transfer of Washington-held wartime operational control of South Korean forces back to Seoul. The allies have previously agreed to conduct the transfer in the mid-2020s.

The partners will also draw up how to manage their Deterrence Strategy Committee, a joint consultative body on deterrence against North Korea's evolving missile capabilities, which the allies launched in April last year, the defense ministry said. (Yonhap)