U.S. defense chief to visit South Korea, Philippines within weeks

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea and the Philippines within a few weeks to step up cooperation with the two countries, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.Austin will meet with senior government and military officials during the trip, which will be a "reaffirmation of our deep commitment to working in concert with allies and partners to chart our shared vision to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to Pat Ryder, press secretary of the Defense Department.The announcement made during a press briefing comes after the top foreign and defense officials of…READ FULL ARTICLE