S.Korea, US to discuss stopping NK`s nuclear program . FEBRUARY 21, 2013 09:23. . The Defense Ministry on Wednesday said military officials of South Korea and the U.S. will hold their third Integrated Defense Dialogue in Washington from Thursday to Friday on stopping North Korea’s nuclear program.

Deputy Defense Minister Lim Kwan-bin and David Helvey, acting U.S. deputy assistant defense secretary for East Asia, and Bradley Roberts, deputy assistant defense secretary for nuclear and missile defense, will attend the meeting.

A ministry source said, “(South) Korea and the U.S. will study and assess the threat of North Korea`s weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and discuss measures tailored to deter Pyongyang from developing or using such weapons as well as the cooperation process between Seoul and Washington in a nuclear crisis.”

The two allies will also discuss detection of signs of a nuclear attack by the North and the timing of a preemptive attack on Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities. By year`s end, both sides will likely decide to complete the development of a “kill chain,” or a military process that detects ballistic missiles on transporter-erector-launcher vehicles within 30 minutes and destroy them. The kill chain was previously planned to be built by 2015.