South Korea and the United States will hold their "two plus two" talks among the top foreign and defense officials this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday, amid the heightening tensions with North Korea's deployment of its troops to Russia. The talks will take place in Washington on Thursday (local time) among Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the ministry said in a statement. The meeting comes at a time when North Korea is believed to have sent its soldiers to Russia for possible deployment to the war in Ukraine. South Korea and the United States have confirmed the North's dispatch of thousands of troops to eastern Russia. The top officials will have "broad discussions on the Korean Peninsula, the bilateral alliance, and other regional and global issues," the ministry said. The two countries will also issue a joint statement after the talks, the ministry said. Source: Yonhap News Agency