Nuke envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan hold phone talks over N. Korea's latest projectile launches

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan held a discussion Monday about North Korea's latest apparent missile test and agreed to maintain the close trilateral cooperation in the region, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, had the emergency consultations with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi -- hours after the North lobbed two suspected short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the fourth show of force this year.

The envoys shared the assessment of Monday's projectile launches and discussed countermeasures, the ministry said.

"Paying keen attention to North Korea's next moves, they agreed to maintain close trilateral cooperation for the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula and resumption of dialogue (with the North) at an early date," it said in a press statement.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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