Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss the bilateral alliance, democracy and issues regarding the Korean Peninsula when they meet one-on-one in Seoul early next week, Cho's office said Thursday. Cho is scheduled to host a luncheon meeting for his American counterpart Monday, during which they will also hold bilateral talks, foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a briefing. Blinken is expected to arrive in South Korea on Sunday to attend the ministerial segment of the Summit for Democracy, a U.S.-led multination gathering meant to promote solidarity and share values among democratic countries. "Discussion will take place on democratic cooperation between the two countries that share common values, such as freedom, human rights and the rule of law, and on ways to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance, as well as issues of mutual interest, such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula and around the globe," Lim said. The expected talks come only we eks after Blinken and Cho had bilateral talks in Washington while Cho was visiting the United States late last month. It was their first in-person talks since Cho took office in January. After his trip to Seoul, Blinken is expected to depart for the Philippines, where he will have trilateral talks involving Japan, with the recent escalation in tensions with China in the South China Sea likely to top the agenda. Source: Yonhap News Agency