WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Wednesday she had constructive talks with her counterparts from Japan and South Korea, where they committed to maintaining an inclusive, free, peaceful, stable and open Indo-Pacific region.

       Sherman met with South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong Kun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, but the two officials did not join Sherman in a news conference due to an unspecified "bilateral difference" unrelated to Wednesday's meeting, Sherman said.

       Despite their absence, the meeting was "constructive, substantive and lasted more than three hours," Sherman said.

       (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)