US, South Korea hold annual defense talks

WASHINGTON - Senior defense officials from the United States and South Korea held the annual Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) from Tuesday to Wednesday, which is one of a series of defense dialogues between Washington and Seoul.

The US was represented by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Helvey, while his counterpart was South Korea's Deputy Defense Minister Yoo Jeh-seung.

According to a statement of the US Defense Department, the talks highlighted the ways to bolster joint deterrence capabilities against missile and nuclear threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and measures to follow up on last year's agreement to postpone the transfer of wartime operational control over South Korean forces from Washington to Seoul.

The two sides also made progress on implementing plans for the conditions-based approach to the transition of wartime operational control, it said, adding that they reached consensus on a new framework for transition.

In addition, the two sides discussed cooperation on regional and global issues, countering weapons of mass destruction and proliferation, and space and cyber initiatives, according to the statement.