The United States, South Korea and Japan held phone consultations on Monday to share information and discuss their response after North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
The launches on Sunday marked North Korea’s 14th ballistic missile launch of the year and its first in eight days, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The missiles were fired from the Wonsan area toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
Baek Yong-jin, director general for Korean Peninsula policy at South Korea’s Foreign Ministry, spoke with David Wilezol, deputy assistant secretary of state for Northeast Asia, and Takashi Ariyoshi, a senior Japanese foreign ministry official.
“The three officials shared relevant information and discussed future responses,” the South Korean ministry said.
Allies maintain missile-response channel
The ministry said the three countries maintain a channel for rapidly sharing information and assessments whenever North Korea conducts a ballistic missile launch.
South Korea’s military said the first missile flew about 450 kilometres, while the second travelled more than 600 kilometres. The launches were tracked jointly by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, with information also shared with Japan.
The latest launches came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, criticised the US-led Pacific Vanguard multinational maritime exercise near Guam and warned that Pyongyang could take a stronger response.
South Korean and Japanese officials have also linked the timing of the launches to recent regional military activities, although North Korea has not explicitly said the missiles were fired in response to Pacific Vanguard.
The launches come ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week and as world leaders gather in New York for the UN General Assembly.
