Yang and Franchetti met for talks aboard the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier at a naval base in Busan, 320 kilometers (199 miles) southeast of Seoul, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"Amidst a grave security situation where North Korea's nuclear and missile threats are advancing, let's upgrade the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture to another level by closely working together based on the ties built between our navies," Yang was quoted as saying by Yonhap.
On Tuesday, North Korea successfully carried out the previously announced launch of its Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite and announced plans to launch several more satellites in a "short span of time." Following the launch, South Korea partially suspended the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Pyongyang announced its decision to restore all military measures suspended under the 2018 inter-Korean military accord.