Vice foreign ministers from South Korea and the United States discussed improvements in Seoul-Beijing relations as the allies continued to check on Pyongyang and Moscow's enhanced cooperation.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun spoke by phone Monday with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and discussed the outcome of Seoul's foreign policy and security dialogue with Beijing last week.

The ministry said Campbell assessed Seoul and Beijing's efforts to bolster diplomacy through communication.

China, which went ahead with the meeting last Tuesday, despite it overlapping with Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to North Korea, had expressed hopes the Pyongyang-Moscow exchange would contribute to regional peace and stability.

Denouncing Pyongyang and Moscow's signing of a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, Seoul and Washington agreed on maintaining a thorough readiness posture, based on a firm U.S. extended deterrence, while keeping close tabs on potential provocations by the North.