(LEAD) Top diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. strongly condemn latest N.K missile provocation in phone talks

(ATTN: UPDATES with S. Korean nuclear envoy's talks with U.S., Japanese counterparts in last 2 paras)

SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea and the United States strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile launches in their phone talks Wednesday, calling them an "unprecedented, grave provocation," according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Earlier in the day, the North fired various types of about 10 missiles, including three short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), off its west and east coasts. One of the SRBMs fell into high seas 26 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea, marking the first missile launched by the North that flew past the NLL since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

In their consultations, Foreign Minister Park Jin and his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, described it as an "unprecedented, grave military provocation," the ministry said in a press release.

They also "deplored" that the missile provocations came amid South Korea's national mourning period following the recent Halloween crowd crush tragedy and agreed to respond sternly to the North's provocations, added the ministry.

South Korea's top nuclear envoy Kim Gunn also held back-to-back phone talks with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Sung Kim and Takehiro Funakoshi, respectively.

They denounced the North for carrying out the provocations in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and the 2018 inter-Korean military accord, the ministry said.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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