SEOUL - Senior defense and foreign affairs officials of South Korea and the United States held talks over issues ranging from their alliance and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the foreign ministry here said Thursday.

Officials at the so-called "two plus two" security talks held in Washington agreed to continue working closely on strengthening deterrence against potential security threats and evaluated progress in the planned 2015 transfer of wartime control from Washington back to Seoul, according to the ministry.

They also discussed regional cooperation on issues including supporting Japan's post-earthquake reconstruction and safety of nuclear power plants and other security issues such as nonproliferation.

The latest round of talks brought together Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Jae-shin and Deputy Defense Minister Lim Kwan-bin from Seoul, and Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for Asian and Pacific affairs, and Derek Mitchell, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, from Washington.