The word out of Washington is that the recently appointed U.S. secretary of defense, Ashton Carter, will pay a visit to Korea sometime next month.<br />Secretary of State John Kerry may also come to Korea,… though on a separate trip.<br />Our Lee Ji-yoon has more.<br />Two top U.S. officials are likely to fly out to Seoul next month.<br />This is according to Korea-based Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, citing diplomatic sources in Washington.<br />U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry are reportedly planning separate trips to Northeast Asia in April, including stops in South Korea and Japan.<br />Their visits come ahead of President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's planned trips to Washington this year.<br />As to what Carter is planning to do while he's here, the report says he's likely to talk about stepping up cooperation between Seoul and Washington to deter North Korean nuclear threats.<br />The focus is also on whether or not he will talk about the issue of deploying an advanced U.S. missile defense system called THAAD to South Korea.<br />Supporters claim deploying the system would better protect the country against North Korea's ballistic missiles,... while opponents say it would only worsen relations with China and Russia.<br />U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also expected to make a stop in Seoul sometime next month.<br />Yonhap's sources say that, while he's here, Kerry is likely to address any remaining issues surrounding last week's attack on U.S. ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert by an anti-U.S. activist.<br />Kerry may also discuss ways to strengthen ties between Seoul and Washington in the wake of the attack on the U.S. ambassador.<br />Lee Ji-yoon, Arirang News.
