Foreign Minister Jeong Eui-yong and U.S. Secretary of State Blinken Talk... "Reaffirming the Importance of the ROK-U.S. Alliance" (Comprehensive)

Discussion on North Korean Missile Launch Issue
"Condemnation of Violation of UN Security Council Resolutions"

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and Defense Minister Suh Wook are heading to their seats after taking a commemorative photo with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin before the Korea-U.S. Foreign and Defense Ministers' Meeting held on the morning of the 18th at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call on the morning of the 15th to discuss North Korea's missile launches.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that during the call, the two ministers discussed the response direction to North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches and emphasized the importance of maintaining a firm combined defense posture based on the strong ROK-U.S. alliance.

In particular, Secretary Blinken condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches as violations of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The U.S. State Department reported, "Secretary Blinken condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches," pointing out that these launches violate multiple UNSC resolutions and emphasized the need for continued trilateral consultations among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

The State Department also stressed that the U.S. commitment to South Korea's security is ironclad.

The two ministers reaffirmed that the ROK-U.S. alliance is a cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. They discussed ways to restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and urged North Korea to respond promptly as South Korea and the U.S. are working to resume dialogue.

This ROK-U.S. foreign ministers' call took place after North Korea launched ballistic missiles three times on the 5th, 11th, and 14th of this month.

Until now, whenever North Korea launched missiles, the ROK-U.S. nuclear envoys exchanged views at the working level. The fact that this issue was discussed at the ministerial level this time is interpreted as a sign that both South Korea and the U.S. regard the matter with great seriousness.

After North Korea fired ballistic missiles claimed to be "hypersonic missiles" on the 5th and 11th, the Biden administration took its first unilateral sanctions against North Korea and proposed adding targets for sanctions at the UNSC level, raising the level of response.

Meanwhile, the call also covered discussions on responses to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as current issues such as the situations in Myanmar and Ukraine.

The two ministers evaluated that their countries are developing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial partnership to jointly address global challenges, including continuing to strengthen cooperation to end COVID-19 by expanding vaccine support to developing countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.