S. Korean Army chief coordinating visit to Hawaii to meet U.S., Japanese counterparts: officials

SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park Jeong-hwan could visit Hawaii around April for talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on trilateral defense cooperation, military officials said Tuesday.

Park is reviewing whether to accept the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's recent invitation to attend the trilateral meeting slated for early April, according to an official.

"It is too early to disclose the details, as whether Gen. Park will attend has not been decided yet, and we are still coordinating the format and agenda of the meeting," he said.

The meeting comes as the South is striving to step up security coordination amid Pyongyang's evolving military threats and growing concerns it could conduct a seventh nuclear test.

Last year, the three countries held a trilateral anti-submarine exercise as part of efforts to sharpen deterrence against North Korean threats and agreed to share real-time data on the North's missiles.

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