S.Korean defense chief to visit Washington for talks with U.S. defense secretary

SEOUL, March 29 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo will visit Washington next week for talks with acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, Seoul's Defense ministry said Friday.

Jeong and Shanahan will hold Defense ministers' talks in Washington on Monday (Washington time), the first face-to-face meeting since Shanahan took the Pentagon post in January, according to the Seoul ministry.

During the meeting, the two Defense chiefs will share the assessment on security situation on the Korean Peninsula following the second summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the United States.

Top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended their second summit without any agreement in late February in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

Jeong and Shanahan will also discuss how to militarily support the diplomatic efforts for the denuclearization Korean Peninsula and the denuclearization negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington.

The combined forces of South Korea and the United States conducted their joint annual military drills, called Dong Maeng in Korean, earlier this month to replace the large-scale Key Resolve command post exercise and the Foal Eagle field training drill.

During the talks, the Defense chiefs will evaluate the Dong Maeng exercise and discuss the future joint military drills between the two allies.