Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper have stressed that adjustments to the allies' combined military exercises has helped to maintain defense readiness and foster conditions for the transfer of wartime operational control(OPCON) back to South Korea.

The two defense chiefs held a joint news conference Friday after holding the annual Security Consultative Meeting(SCM) at Seoul's Defense Ministry.

Jeong said in regards to the OPCON transfer that the two sides jointly approved the results of the future combined forces command's initial operational capability(IOC) test conducted in August.

Based on the results, he said the two sides will continue close cooperation to seek verification of full operational capability next year.

The defense chiefs also agreed to push for seamless implementation of South Korea's New Southern Policy initiative and the United States' Indo-Pacific strategy while stepping up cooperation in space exploration, cyber affairs and defense industries. 

Jeong and Esper also agreed on joint efforts for the swift relocation and return of U.S. military bases in South Korea and the need to continuously advance their future alliance.