U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates will pay their respects to the South Korean sailors killed in North Korea's sinking of a warship when they visit Seoul later this month, a government source said Sunday.
Clinton and Gates are scheduled to visit South Korea to attend a joint meeting of the foreign and defense ministers of the two countries. The inaugural "two plus two" talks, set for July 21, are aimed at strengthening the alliance between Seoul and Washington.
Their trip includes a visit to Seoul's War Memorial of Korea where they will pay tribute to the U.N. troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War and to the 46 South Korean naval sailors killed in North Korea's sinking of the warship Cheonan in March, a government source said on condition of anonymity.
The visit to the war memorial also includes a ceremony where the two top U.S. officials will inspect an honor guard formed jointly by South Korea's Army, Navy and Air Force as well as the U.S. military stationed in South Korea, the source said.
The "two plus two" talks are expected to produce a joint statement underscoring the firmness of the South Korea-U.S. alliance 60 years after the outbreak of the Korean War and amid tensions in the wake of the ship sinking in March.