S Korea, US to discuss DPRK rocket launch

SEOUL - South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold defense talks involving discussions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s failed rocket launch earlier this month, the defense ministry in Seoul said on Monday.

The two-day "Korea-US integrated defense dialogue (KIDD)" will be held Thursday in Washington, bringing together Seoul's deputy defense chief Lim Kwan-bin and his US counterpart James Miller for high-level defense policy coordination.

The inaugural talks will discuss issues raised at the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee, the Strategic Alliance 2015 Working Group and the Security Policy Initiative forum.

DPRK's failed rocket launch, which Seoul and Washington say was a disguised long-range missile test, will be on the agenda as the allies seek to coordinate their response.

The launch, conducted in apparent defiance of a United Nations ban, has sparked international outcry despite Pyongyang's claim that it was meant to mark the birth centennial of the country's founding father Kim Il-sung.

During the Washington talks, the allies are also expected to set the agenda for the upcoming talks among the South Korean and US defense chiefs and top diplomats and for the 44th Security Consultative Meeting.