1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha talked to Foreign Minister Taro Kono of Japan over the phone on August 29 at the latter’s request after her telephone conversation with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of the US earlier in the day. Over the phone, the two top diplomats discussed their assessments of the situation regarding North Korea’s ballistic missile launch and ways to respond to the provocation. 

2. Minister Kono mentioned that the missile, launched by North Korea earlier in the day without any prior notice, had passed through Japanese airspace, giving rise to an unprecedented incident in terms of safety of the Japanese, in response to which the country had activated a warning system. He went on to condemn in strong terms the latest North Korean provocation, calling it a violent act in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2371. 

3. Minister Kang responded by saying that she shares Japan’s feeling of threat over the North Korean provocation. She suggested that as discussed at the telephone conversations between the foreign ministers of the ROK and the US, the ROK and Japan, and the US and Japan on August 29, close coordination be undertaken for the UN Security Council and various other mechanisms and countries to take tough measures in response to the North’s provocation. 

° In particular, Minister Kang stressed that although the ROK and the US had recently made it public that should North Korea stop provocations, there could be other opportunities, North Korea had repeatedly launched provocations over a period of a few days, calling it a disappointing act of throwing cold water on the international community’s hope to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations. 

4. The two Ministers, sharing the view that North Korea is highly likely to commit further provocations, agreed to thoroughly brace for them in close coordination between their two countries as well as among them and the US. They also agreed to continuously engage in close, strategic bilateral communication at diverse levels on the sidelines of various international events, including the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in early September and the UN General Assembly session in late September. 


* unofficial translation