South Korea and the U.S. on Monday agreed to bring an end to the “Freedom Guardian” joint military exercises, first put on hold last year as part of efforts to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula. 

The announcement followed a meeting between U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan and South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo in Seoul — their second bilateral meeting.

The two were reported to have discussed “ways to work together on issues pertaining to the security situation on the Korean peninsula and major issues of the ROK-U.S. alliance,” a Korean-language joint press statement