Washington, DC – North Korea, the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), support to Ukraine and other security issues were among the topics US Defense Secretary James N. Mattis discussed with Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan in Vancouver, British Columbia, during his trip there, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, Dana W. White, said in a statement.
Mattis and Sajjan met on the sidelines of the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability of the Korean Peninsula, White said.
The two leaders discussed the North Korean threat and the importance of maintaining military support to the global diplomatic and economic pressure on Pyongyang, she said.
White said Mattis and Sajjan also exchanged views on their commitment to working with allies and partners on shared security concerns, including the campaign to defeat ISIS and support to Ukraine.
The secretary and the minister also reaffirmed their support to the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s readiness to face current and future threats as NORAD enters its 60th year of Canadian-US operations in 2018, White said.
Earlier, Mattis departed on Jan. 15 for a trip that took him to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he participated in the welcome dinner of the Vancouver Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula, according to the Pentagon.
The meeting, cohosted by the US and Canada, brought together foreign ministers from the 16 nations that provided combat, combat support or combat service support forces to the UN Command during the Korean War, as well as other important parties, such as South Korea and Japan, State Department officials said in December.

On Jan. 16, the secretary traveled to Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho to visit the 366th Fighter Wing, known as the “Gunfighters.” While there, he visited with service members and held a town hall meeting.
The wing is unique in that it includes a Singapore air force training squadron, the 428th Fighter Squadron, which provides Singaporean pilots and crew with advanced weapons and tactics training for the F-15SG Strike Eagle.
Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent