U.S. Defense Secretary & Secretary of State to visit Korea next month: Yonhap

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.Secretary of State John Kerry may also come to Korea,… though on a separate trip.Our Lee Ji-yoon has more.Two top U.S. officials are likely to fly out to Seoul next month.This is according to Korea-based Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, citing diplomatic sources in Washington.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.Their visits come ahead of President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's planned trips to Washington this year.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.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.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.U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is also expected to make a stop in Seoul sometime next month.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.Kerry may also discuss ways to strengthen ties between Seoul and Washington in the wake of the attack on the U.S. ambassador.Lee Ji-yoon, Arirang News.