The defense ministers of South Korea and the United States are set to discuss bolstering their deterrence against potential provocations by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who visited Beijing and Tokyo, will make a brief stop in Seoul on Friday to meet with his South Korean counterpart Kim Kwan-jin in their first meeting since Kim took office in December last year.

Seoul and Washington worked together in response to the rising tension on the Korean peninsular by jointly staging military drills last year.