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Secretary of Defense James Mattis will meet Friday in Hawaii with his South Korean counterpart, Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo, to discuss issues on the Korean Peninsula.
Mattis talked about the meeting Wednesday with reporters en route to Vietnam and after visiting Indonesia.
The logistics of meeting in Hawaii arose “just because we have an opportunity out here to link up in the field. (It) makes it easier for both of us on the travel side,” Mattis said.
The meeting will take place at U.S. Pacific Command headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith and will include “introductory statements” open to the media by Mattis and Song, the Hawaii command said.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported the United States and South Korea want to coordinate actions after North Korea engaged with Seoul for the first time in more than two years and agreed to participate in the Olympic winter games starting next month in South Korea.
The Pentagon said Mattis was traveling to Indonesia and Vietnam and would conclude the trip with a visit to Hawaii and meeting with Adm. Harry Harris, the head of Pacific Command.
