U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis will visit South Korea next week to discuss the next steps following the suspension of joint military exercises.

Mattis on Wednesday told reporters at the Pentagon that he will have a meeting on the matter in the U.S. Friday morning and then visit Beijing and Seoul next week to "sort out the way ahead."

The Pentagon said in a statement on Monday that Mattis is scheduled to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton on Friday. 

Japan's Asahi Shimbun daily reported that the U.S. defense chief is expected to hold talks with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo in Seoul late this month. 

Meanwhile, Mattis said that he is not aware that North Korea has taken any steps to dismantle its nuclear weapons program since the summit in Singapore, saying it's the very front end of a process and the detailed negotiations have not begun.

[Photo : KBS News]