S. Korea, US, Japan Urge North Korea to Halt Missile Provocations, Reaffirm Trilateral Cooperation

Following North Korea's ballistic missile launch toward the East Sea today (the 12th), diplomatic authorities from South Korea, the US, and Japan held phone consultations to urge Pyongyang to halt its provocative actions, according to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the ministry, following the launch, Baek Yong-jin, Director-General for Korean Peninsula Policy at South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs; David Weltzall, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Japan and Korea; and Ariyoshi Takashi, Deputy Director-General of the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a telephone discussion.

The officials reaffirmed that North Korea's ballistic missile launch violates relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

The Japanese ministry stated that the three sides urged North Korea to halt provocative acts that threaten regional and international peace and security, while reaffirming close trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the US, and Japan.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced that it detected a ballistic missile fired by North Korea from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea at around 6 a.m. today.

The launch appears to be North Korea's latest missile test, occurring six days prior to the South Korea-US joint military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS). This marks North Korea's 11th ballistic missile launch of the year.

Japan's Ministry of Defense announced that the missile is estimated to have reached an altitude of about 90 km, flown approximately 690 km, and landed outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.