SEOUL: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit South Korea next week and hold a meeting on Monday with his counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, the foreign ministry in Seoul said on Thursday.

Blinken will be attending the third Summit for Democracy hosted by South Korea taking place from Monday to Wednesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk told a briefing.

The meeting by Cho and Blinken will be the second in a month, as the allies step up efforts to upgrade their ability to execute the so-called “extended deterrence” in response to security threats from North Korea.

Antony Blinken meets Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in occupied West Bank

The summit, attended by foreign ministers, other senior officials and civil society leaders, will hold discussions under the theme of “Democracy for Future Generations,” South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s office has announced.