The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will meet next week in Washington to discuss the bilateral alliance and combined defense posture.

According to a source in the South Korean military on Sunday, defense minister Lee Jong-sup plans to meet his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, when Lee attends a dedication ceremony for the Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial set for next Wednesday in Washington.

Lee and Austin held a bilateral meeting on June 11 in Singapore on the sidelines of the regional security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue.

In the planned meeting, the two sides are expected to discuss measures to follow up on the agreements reached during the May summit in Seoul between President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden.

In particular, they are likely to exchange opinions on ways to strengthen their combined defense posture and extended deterrence against North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, including combined joint drills and the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.