WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will deliver a speech this week on the role of the South Korea-US alliance in addressing growing threats from North Korea, organizers said Sunday.

Tillerson will be one of two keynote speakers at a forum organized by the Korea Foundation and the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington on Tuesday, according to the KF. The other speaker will be US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who is scheduled to address the bilateral trade relationship.

"(Tillerson) will explore the near- and longer-term outlook for the United States to maintain a strong presence within an uncertain and dynamic security environment in the Asia-Pacific, especially through its alliances and partnerships in the region, with a focus on the United States and ROK," KF said in a press release.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (AP-Yonhap)
ROK is the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

"This session will also examine ways that the US-ROK relationship fits into both Administrations' global policy for the Asia-Pacific region, how the US and ROK could improve and increase their security cooperation to handle growing challenges from a belligerent North Korea, and what both states can do to strengthen relations," it added.

The forum, titled "Reimaging the US-Republic of Korea Partnership in the Trans-Pacific Century," will run for two days, with the second day closed to the public.

More than 40 experts and former government officials from both countries are expected to participate in the event. (Yonhap)