Defense Minister Shin Won-sik met with the new chief of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on Thursday and discussed strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance amid North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, his office said.

Shin met Adm. Samuel Paparo and U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera and thanked them for their support in strengthening the U.S. extended deterrence and deepening trilateral security cooperation with Japan, according to the ministry.

Both sides condemned North Korea’s recent failed attempt to launch a military spy satellite as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and agreed on the importance of close cooperation between the allies in the face of such threats, the ministry said.

Paparo, the former commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, took office earlier this month, succeeding Adm. John C. Aquilino.

Source: Yonhap News Agency