@ Follow the link(Office of the 20th President)

By Park Hye Ri

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Oct. 6 held a phone conversation on issues of common bilateral interest.

The presidential office said the talks lasted 25 minutes from 5:35 p.m. to 6 p.m. as President Yoon from his office in Seoul's Yongsan-gu District exchanged opinions on North Korea's recent launches of ballistic missiles with the Japanese leader.

The call came two weeks later after their summit last month in New York during the 77th United Nations General Assembly.

The two leaders condemned the launches as an act of grave provocation threatening the peace and safety of not just the Korean Peninsula but also Northeast Asia and the international community. They agreed on bilateral cooperation for a stern response.

They both acknowledged the need to deliver a clear message that Pyeongyang must pay for its reckless provocations, stressing the importance of not only trilateral security cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo but also strong solidarity with the international community, including the U.N. Security Council.

The two sides mentioned a positive flow in bilateral relations as shown by their summit last month in New York and agreed on their status as partners who should cooperate in global issues.

Both leaders also pledged continued diplomatic efforts through frequent communication on bilateral issues like national security.