Navy Capt. Jeff A. Davis provided the following readout:

Deputy Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan met today with the Republic of Korea's Vice Minister of National Defense Suh Choo-Suk.  The leaders reaffirmed the ironclad nature of the alliance, and the importance of maintaining vigilance and unity in the face of North Korean aggression.  Shanahan and Suh agreed to build upon the already strong working relationship that Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and his Republic of Korea counterpart Song Young-Moo have developed over the past several months.  Shanahan noted that the new National Defense Strategy, released earlier today, underscores the U.S. Department of Defense's commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and to our alliances.  Shanahan also noted that both he and Mattis hail from "the other Washington," the closest of the lower 48 states to the Korean Peninsula.  The two leaders discussed preparations for the upcoming 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, the Republic of Korea's defense reform initiative, and the ongoing military talks between North and South Korea, agreeing that the U.S. and Republic of Korea will remain unified in working to achieve a complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.