A high-ranking government source said Monday that Korea and the US will have backdoor negotiations with regard to the country's FX program with Peter Rodman, the deputy undersecretary for defense, representing the American side. He continued that the FX project is not an official topic of the Korea-US summit, but unofficial discussions may take place.

Another official said the Ministry of National Defense will make a preliminary decision on the program by the end of March after considering the price, operational costs, technology transfer and weapons integration, and a final announcement is expected in April.

(Kim Min-bai, baibai@chosun.com )