The below is attributable to Spokesperson Ned Price:
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke today with Republic of Korea (ROK) First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong Kun and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo about continued trilateral U.S.-ROK-Japan cooperation regarding the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) March 24 intercontinental ballistic missile launch, which was a clear violation of multiple United Nation Security Council resolutions. Deputy Secretary Sherman and her counterparts jointly condemned the DPRK’s increasingly escalatory launches and called on the DPRK to stop its destabilizing actions and return to diplomacy. The Deputy Secretary also reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the defense of the ROK and Japan. Deputy Secretary Sherman stressed the importance of close coordination with our allies and partners to address the threats posed by the DPRK and to advance our shared objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.