Asia-Pacific

S. Korea, US to finalize plans for joint drills

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-20 11:32

SEOUL - South Korean and US defense chiefs will hold talks Tuesday afternoon to arrange schedule for joint naval drills and discuss their alliance.

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US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who arrived in South Korea on Monday night, is scheduled to visit the Camp Casey, one of the US bases located near the Demilitarized Zone, and meet with his South Korean counterpart Kim Tae-young.

The two are expected to announce a detailed plan for joint military exercises after the meeting, according to local media reports.

The meeting comes a day before the so-called "two plus two" security talks, which involves the two defense chiefs as well as Seoul's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Seoul and Washington had planned to hold it off the west coast, where the warship Cheonan sank in late March, but backed out from the decision in the face of the apparent Chinese objection, according to reports.