U.S.-Japan summit call "strong condemnation of North Korean missiles... All efforts to limit missiles"

US President Joe Biden spoke to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the phone and strongly condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missile launch, the White House said.

"The two leaders condemned North Korea's missile tests in the strongest terms, and evaluated the launch as a danger to the Japanese people, destabilizing the region and a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions," the White House said.

"The two leaders confirmed that they will continue to closely coordinate the immediate and long-term response bilaterally, trilaterally with South Korea and with the international community," the White House said.

"The two leaders discussed the importance of resolving the issue and the immediate repatriation of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea and agreed to continue all efforts to limit North Korea's ability to sustain its illicit ballistic missile and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs. decided," he said.

The White House added that the call was made to reinforce Japan's commitment to defense.

North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile over Japan on the evening of the 3rd eastern time in the United States, and the leaders of the United States and Japan spoke on the phone the next day, suggesting that they are taking the matter seriously.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also reaffirmed U.S. defense commitments to Japan and discussed countermeasures against North Korean missile launches in a phone call with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukaz Hamada.

The two ministers supported further discussions on U.S.-Japan bilateral and South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral security cooperation to counter the North Korean threat and agreed to continue efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the Pentagon explained.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff defined the missile launched this time by North Korea as an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM), but the White House on the same day announced in a press release that it was a 'long range ballistic missile', which actually means an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It is expressed differently as missile).