Defense Minister Meets with US Military Commander Condemning North Korea's Ballistic Missile Launch

On the morning of the 4th, Defense Minister Hamada held a meeting at the Ministry of Defense with Commander Aquilino, the head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

In this, Minister Hamada once again strongly condemned the fact that the ballistic missile launched by North Korea on the morning of the 4th passed over Japan, saying, "This is an outrageous act following the repeated launches of ballistic missiles." did.

He added, "The security environment surrounding Japan has become significantly more severe, with North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches, China's unilateral change of the status quo through force, and its continued attempts to do so. The Japan-U.S. alliance is more important than ever."

In response, Commander Aquilino strongly condemned North Korea's launch and said, "Such actions destabilize the region and threaten peace and stability." He indicated his intention to work on maintaining the Indo-Pacific.

Japan-U.S. bureau chief confirms close cooperation by phone discussion

In response to the launch of a ballistic missile by North Korea, Director-General Funakoshi of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau met with U.S. State Department Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and South Korean Foreign Ministry Director-General of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiations Headquarters Kim Gon. We discussed over the phone for about 20 minutes from around 9:00 am.

“It is extremely regrettable and absolutely unacceptable that North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time since 2017,” Funakoshi said.

On that basis, the three parties strongly condemned the launch of ballistic missiles that flew over Japan on the 4th, following the launch of ballistic missiles four times in the past week. We once again shared the recognition that North Korea's strengthening of its nuclear and missile activities is a clear and serious challenge to the international community.

They also confirmed that they would continue to work closely together on further measures at the UN Security Council and strengthening regional deterrence, including trilateral security cooperation among Japan, the United States, and the ROK.