SEOUL - South Korea and the United States are holding three-day discussions over joint anti-bioterrorism drills, officials here said Thursday.

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The discussions, called "Able Response 11," are first such joint dialogue between the allies aimed at deterring bioterrorist threats and potential attacks, according to Yang Young-mo, a defense ministry official in Seoul. The discussions kicked off Wednesday.

Andrew Weber, US assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, are among the US officials engaged in the discussions, he said.

South Korea has never held anti-bioterrorism attacks on its own, and it has yet to be decided whether the allies would continue holding anti-bioterrorism meetings, Yang added.