Senior diplomats of S. Korea, U.S. condemn N. Korea's missile launches in phone talks

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile launches in their phone talks Thursday, calling them a "serious threat" to the Korean Peninsula and beyond, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Earlier in the day, North Korea fired an apparent intercontinental ballistic missile and two suspected short-range ones toward the East Sea, according to the South's military.

In their consultations, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong and his American counterpart, Wendy Sherman, said the North's move poses a "serious threat to the peace and stability" of the peninsula and the international community, the ministry said in a press release.

They agreed on the need for the allies to maintain a strong combined defense posture as well as close cooperation on responses to the North's additional provocations, including those through the United Nations Security Council, amid speculation that it may soon carry out a nuclear test.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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