S. Korea, US, Japan Discuss Coordinated Response to N. Korea’s Suspected IRBM Launch

Top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan discussed trilateral coordination in response to North Korea’s suspected firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) towards the East Sea on Tuesday.

According to Seoul’s foreign ministry, acting chief envoy Lee Jun-il shared an assessment of the suspected IRBM and coordinated a three-way response with his U.S. counterpart Jung Pak and Japanese counterpart Hamamoto Yukiya.

The three officials strongly condemned the North’s ballistic missile launch as a violation of multiple United Nations Security Council(UNSC) resolutions and a clear provocation that seriously threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and around the world.

They agreed to seek a united international response to the North’s actions through closer trilateral coordination.

The envoys also agreed to keep an eye out for additional provocations by the North ahead of  South Korea’s general elections on April 10 while they closely coordinate deterrence against the regime based on the Seoul-Washington alliance and their three-way security cooperation.