The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States will meet in Seoul this week to seek ways to strengthen the enforcement of U.S. extended deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, including the operation of the nuclear consultative group.

According to Seoul's defense ministry on Wednesday, minister Shin Won-sik and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will hold the 55th Security Consultative Meeting(SCM) next Monday.

Shin told reporters last week that his first in-person meeting with Austin since taking office last month is likely to cover the further actualization of the three-pronged U.S. extended deterrence of nuclear and conventional assets, missile defense and defense research and development.

The allies will also likely check up on Washington's conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul.

It is also speculated that next week's annual SCM could lead to discussions on a trilateral meeting of the defense chiefs from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan for the first time since June.