Defense Secretary James Mattis has said both U.S. and Chinese officials attested that North Korea’s nuclear missile efforts pose a security threat in the Asia-Pacific region, DoD News reported Wednesday.
“We also affirmed our strong commitment to cooperate, including through the U.N. to realize our shared goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he said after the first U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue.
Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Yang Jiechi, China’s state councilor, and Gen. Fang Fenghui, chief of the Chinese joint staff department, for the dialogue held Wednesday at the State Department in Washington, D.C.
Mattis cited that the dialogue also touched upon the resolution of maritime disputes in the South China Sea.
“We discussed ways to decrease tension and reduce risk in the South China Sea,” he said.
“As we maintain open dialogue on this topic, the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.”
U.S. and Chinese officials also discussed the defense cooperation between the two countries and China’s assistance to Iraq to help counter the Islamic State militant organization, the report added.
