1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha spoke by phone with her US counterpart Rex Tillerson for about 15 minutes on August 29, and shared their assessment of the situation regarding North Korea’s ballistic missile launch this morning and held in-depth discussions on ways to respond to it.

2. Minister Kang and Secretary Tillerson agreed on the seriousness of the launch of the missile that flew over Japan, and agreed to work closely together to take firm measures, including a strong response on the part of the Security Council, against such serious action by North Korea that creates tensions.

3. The Minister and the Secretary especially expressed deep disappointment over the fact that though the ROK and the US have publicly said all along that if North Korea stops its provocations, there can be another opportunity, the North launched the ballistic missile yet again only three days after its provocation on August 26. They strongly condemned this.

4. The two sides agreed to continue close strategic communications between the two countries at different levels, making use of a range of opportunities, including the UN General Assembly in September.


* unofficial translation