US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will stay in South Korea for two days starting from March 17 during which he will meet with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and other senior government officials.

Yun and Tillerson will meet on the first day of the latter's stay in Seoul and discuss many pending issues including the North's nuclear threat and cooperation in applying more pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang, according to ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck.

Welcoming Tillerson's first Asia tour since his inauguration that will also take him to Japan and China, the spokesman said that the US top diplomat's visit to Korea is "very timely." He also expressed hope that it will reaffirm the two allies' commitment to strong alliance and iron-clad coordination against the North's nuclear threat. (Yonhap)