A senior U.S. official said on Tuesday that the United States will hold defense minister-level talks with South Korea and Japan next month to help resolve disputes between its two Northeast Asian allies. 

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver made the remarks at a forum in Washington when asked about the U.S.' role in mediating disputes between Seoul and Tokyo. 

Schriver responded that the U.S. would soon have such an opportunity at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus(ADMM-Plus) set for November in Thailand, adding the three nations will hold defense minister-level talks there.  

The ADMM-Plus is a defense dialogue mechanism involving the ten-member nations of ASEAN and other countries, including the United States.

While pledging the U.S. will "do what it can" to help resolve disputes between South Korea and Japan, Schriver stressed that tension and conflict between the two only benefits China, Russia and North Korea.