U.S. Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Defense will visit South Korea to discuss in depth the issue of the Korea-U.S. alliance

　　China News Service, March 11, according to Korean media reports, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the 10th that US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea on the 17th.

This will be the first meeting between the top foreign policy and defense officials of South Korea and the United States since the Biden administration took office.

　　According to reports, the two sides are expected to conduct close consultations on major issues such as the North Korean nuclear issue, the South Korea-US-Japan alliance, and the transfer of wartime operational command.

　　On the 17th, South Korean Foreign Minister Jeong Yi-yong will hold talks with Brinken to extensively exchange views on issues such as South Korea-US relations, the Korean Peninsula issue, regional and even international cooperation.

The report pointed out that in view of the Biden administration’s claim that considerable progress has been made in the assessment of its North Korean policy, the US’s position on the North Korean issue has attracted much attention.

　　Secretary of Defense Xu Xu will hold talks with the defense ministers of South Korea and the United States in Austin on the same day.

The two defense ministers had a phone call after Austin took office in January, and this was the first time they met offline.

This is also the first visit to South Korea by the US Secretary of Defense after a lapse of one year and four months.

　　The Ministry of Defense of South Korea stated that the meeting will share an assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and will discuss various issues of the South Korean-US alliance in depth.

According to observations, the two sides will focus on discussing the issue of "recovering wartime combat command during the term of office" promised by South Korean President Moon Jae-in during his election campaign.

　　On the 18th, South Korea and the United States will hold the 5th "2+2" meeting of foreign ministers and defense ministers. It is expected that the two sides will sort out the main content of the talks the day before and issue a joint statement after the meeting.

The last meeting was held in Washington, USA in October 2016.

　　The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the two countries are expected to take this visit to strengthen communication and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula issue, regional and global cooperation, and further deepen the alliance relationship.