1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on July 4, during which the two top diplomats shared with each other their assessments of the ballistic missile launch by North Korea earlier in the day and discussed in depth possible responses.

2. Minister Kang condemned in strong terms the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea, which came after the Republic of Korea and the United States, at their bilateral summit talks the week before, had urged the North to stop provocative behavior and take the path toward denuclearization as soon as possible. She went on to stress that, as the ROK President had mentioned at the emergency meeting of the National Security Council earlier in the day, stern measures should be taken in response to the North Korean provocation, including by the UN Security Council, based on the steadfast ROK-US coordination.

3. Secretary Tillerson, fully agreeing on the ROK government’s assessment regarding the gravity of the North Korean launch of a ballistic missile on July 4, emphasized that the ROK and the US, in watertight coordination with each other, should take diplomatic measures in a prompt and stern manner in response to the North’s provocation. He added that as part of such efforts, tougher sanctions and stronger pressure will be applied, including by the UN Security Council, along with doubled efforts to induce the Chinese government to play a more active role.

4. With regard to the ROK-US summit talks held the week before, the two Ministers noted with appreciation that the meeting was significant, as the two countries had firmly agreed to put their top priority on the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and to use sanctions, dialogue and all other approaches to achieve a complete denuclearization of North Korea through peace means. On that note, the two top diplomats voiced hope that with this momentum of the ROK-US coordination on the North Korean nuclear issue built at the bilateral summit talks, the dinner to be held among the ROK, the US and the Japanese leaders on July 6 on the sidelines of the G20 summit later in the week will serve as another good milestone toward the denuclearization of North Korea -- a shared goal of the international community. They agreed to communicate closely with each other at the G20 and various other events.


* unofficial translation