In a joint statement issued after their talks in Seoul, Gen. Han Min-koo of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff and his U.S. counterpart Adm. Mike Mullen said they "agreed to primarily refine the ROK-supported, U.S.-supporting plans for local provocation in order for the alliance to resolutely respond to further North Korean aggression." 

ROK is an acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

Han and Mullen also "agreed to continue combined exercises designed to effectively deter North Korean aggression and strengthen the joint capabilities to respond," the statement said.

Military tensions on the Korean Peninsula spiked to one of their highest levels in decades, following the North's artillery assault on Yeonpyeong Island on Nov. 23 near the tense Yellow Sea border.

The brazen assault marked the first time North Korea has targeted a civilian area on the South's territory since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The two sides "acknowledged that the artillery fire on Yeonpyeong was a deliberate and illegal armed attack which violates the U.N. charter and armistice agreement" that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, the statement said. (Yonhap News)