Vice defense chiefs of S Korea, Japan to hold talks

The vice defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are scheduled to hold talks later this week to discuss expanding bilateral defense ties, the defense ministry here said Monday. South Korean Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul will meet with his Japanese counterpart Kimito Nakae in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss regional security and defense cooperation between the two countries, according to the ministry. Nakae's two-day Seoul trip will also involve a meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and a visit to the truce village of Panmunjom, which sits between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). The meeting comes after Kim and his Japanese counterpart Toshimi Kitazawa agreed in January to regularize meetings between vice defense ministers of Seoul and Tokyo.