S. Korea, US to hold ‘2+2’ Talks among Foreign, Defense Chiefs

South Korea and the United States will hold their "two plus two" talks among the top foreign and defense officials this week, South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday, amid the heightening tensions with North Korea's deployment of its troops to Russia. The ministry said in a statement that the talks will take place in Washington on Thursday among South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, according to South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap). The meeting comes at a time when North Korea is believed to have sent its soldiers to Russia for possible deployment to the conflict in Ukraine. South Korea and the United States have confirmed the North's dispatch of thousands of troops to eastern Russia. The top officials will have "broad discussions on the Korean Peninsula, the bilateral alliance, and other regional and global issues," the ministry said. Source: Qatar News Agency