Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan will meet in Washington, D.C., Monday (early Tuesday in KST), to discuss security on the Korean Peninsula.

It will be their first face-to-face talks since Shanahan took office, following their telephone conversation on March 2 when they agreed to meet soon.

During the meeting, Jeong and Shanahan will also evaluate the joint Dong Maeng exercise that ended on March 12. The exercise replaced a larger-scale Key Resolve command post exercise, which was canceled as a gesture toward ongoing peace efforts on the peninsula.

The U.S. and South Korea have suspended three major join exercises ― Key Resolve, Foal Eagle and Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) ― replacing them with Dong Maeng exercises and other training.