▲ North Korea fires a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 12, 2023, in this file photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided the launch and the missile flew 1,001 kilometers for 4,491 seconds at a maximum altitude of 6,648 km before splashing into the East Sea, the North said. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

S Korea-US-Japan-nuclear envoys

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, U.S., Japan condemn N. Korea's missile launches

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea, the United States and Japan held phone talks and condemned North Korea's recent back-to-back missile provocations, Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.

Earlier in the day, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into the East Sea, marking the fifth ICBM launch this year -- the highest number ever recorded in a single year. Also Sunday, North Korea launched a short-range missile from Pyongyang.

The back-to-back missile launches came just days after Seoul and Washington held the second session of the Nuclear Consultative Group and agreed to complete the establishment of guidelines on the planning and operation of a shared nuclear strategy by the middle of next year.

Kim Gunn, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, spoke by phone to discuss the latest provocations with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts, Jung Pak and Hiroyuki Namazu, respectively, the ministry said.

During the phone talks, the three "strongly condemned" the launches as clear provocations that seriously threaten the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the international community, denouncing them as overt violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions.

They pointed out that the North's illicit nuclear weapons development and threat of a preemptive nuclear strike are the "root causes" of regional security being undermined.

The three sides also agreed to strengthen their trilateral cooperation to deter the provocations and to intensify their joint efforts to curb the North's illicit activities that fund its nuclear and missile development.

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