US and South Korean troops in a joint military exercise in Pohang, 270 kilometers Southeast of Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

The two defense chiefs have been cranking up security coordination amid speculation Pyongyang could ratchet up tensions by conducting a nuclear test or other provocative acts, Yonhap news agency reported.

It would mark their second in-person meeting in their current capacities, following their first talks on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore, in June.

According to the South Korean Defence Ministry’s press release, through this meeting, the two sides plan to exchange their assessments about the security situation on the peninsula and have a wide-range of discussions on various alliance issues, including efforts to enhance the enforceability of extended deterrence.