South Korea and the United States agreed to thoroughly prepare against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and further solidify their combined defense posture.

Such agreement was made on Friday during a policy consultation between Kim Tae-hyo, first deputy director at the National Security Office(NSO), and U.S. Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Alex Wong.

The two officials also resolved to seek ways to cooperate toward increasing the synergy between capabilities of the South Korean military and U.S. Forces Korea(USFK).

The allies highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding through their national security councils to bolster cooperation in defense industry and maritime security.

Seoul's NSO said the talks were a follow-up to National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik's visit to the U.S. last month and acting President Han Duck-soo's phone conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month.