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. The Deputy Secretary and vice foreign ministers reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation between the United States, the ROK, and Japan in tackling pressing challenges in the region and across the globe. Deputy Secretary Sherman denounced the DPRK’s recent and escalatory ballistic missile launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and destabilizing to the region and discussed ongoing efforts to achieve the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Deputy Secretary highlighted the United States’ continued readiness to engage in serious and sustained diplomacy with the DPRK in order to make tangible progress.