South Korea and the United States have agreed to expand cooperation and their joint deterrence against North Korea's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction(WMD).

Seoul’s defense ministry on Wednesday revealed the allies held an annual session of the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction(CWMD) Committee in Seoul on Tuesday. 

The ministry’s policy planning chief Yoon Bong-hee represented South Korea, while Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy Richard Johnson led the U.S. side.

The two allies expressed concerns that North Korea’s nuclear and WMD capabilities are causing instability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, and discussed ways to strengthen the effectiveness of their deterrence and defense against North Korea's nuclear weapons and WMDs.

The two sides agreed to expand information sharing on North Korea's nuclear and WMD programs and strengthen the capabilities and expertise of related units through the Cooperative Threat Reduction(CTR) program.

The CTR is an international security program provided by the U.S. Department of Defense to strengthen allies' capabilities to respond to WMD threats. South Korea and the U.S. adopted a joint statement on their CTR program partnership in October 2019.