The foreign affairs and defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. will hold a series of meetings in Seoul and Washington this week. 

According to government officials of the two countries on Sunday, U.S Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will sit down for talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, in Seoul on Tuesday.

The two officials are likely to discuss cooperation on responding to North Korea’s provocations, including another nuclear test, and ways to reinforce the execution of the U.S.’ extended deterrence. 

Preparations for a tabletop exercise(TTX) led by the allies' Deterrence Strategy Committee(DSC), scheduled to kick off next month, is also expected to top discussions. 

Meanwhile, foreign minister Park Jin is set to visit Washington this week. He is seeking to meet his U.S. counterpart, Antony Blinken, on Friday, in addition to holding talks with senior officials of the National Security Council. 

Park’s visit comes before Blinken is scheduled to visit China from Sunday.