WASHINGTON, June 24, 2016 — U.S., Japanese and South Korean defense officials held a videoconference today to discuss the recent North Korean missile launches, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a readout of the call.
Kelly Magsamen, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs; Yoo Jeh-seung, South Korea’s deputy defense minister for policy; and Satoshi Maeda, Japan’s director general for defense policy, co-chaired the trilateral interagency video conference, Cook said.
U.S. Strategic Command officials confirmed that North Korea launched two ballistic missiles Tuesday, presumed to be Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The missiles are believed to have fallen into the Sea of Japan.
“These and other North Korean missile launches are violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions that explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology,” Cook said.
The officials from all three countries reiterated their strong condemnation of these launches, the press secretary said, and urged North Korea to refrain from provocative actions that undermine peace and security, and instead focus on fulfilling its international obligations and commitments. The defense officials noted that North Korea's provocations would only strengthen the resolve of the international community, he added.
The United States reaffirms its ironclad alliance commitments to defend South Korea and Japan, Cook said, and will continue to work closely with South Korea and Japan, as well as the international community, to address North Korea's provocative actions.