S.Korean FM holds phone talks with Pompeo over DPRK’s projectile launch

SEOUL,South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Saturday had telephone talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s launch of short-range projectiles, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry.

Kang and Pompeo exchanged opinions over phone about the DPRK’s short-range projectile launches. They agreed to conduct additional analyses on the launches and cautiously tackle it while continuing communications.The phone talks came after the DPRK fired unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea from the DPRK’s eastern coast city of Wonsan Saturday morning.

The projectiles traveled between 70 km to 200 km into the eastern waters, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).Lee Do-hoon, South Korea’s special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, talked over phone with Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK affairs, according to the Seoul ministry.Lee and Biegun agreed to keep communicating with each side at every level about the issue.

Following the DPRK’s projectile launches, the top national security advisor for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the country’s intelligence agency chief and the defense minister gathered to monitor current situations and closely share information on it with the U.S. side, according to the presidential Blue House.

An unnamed South Korean military official was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying the projectiles were not believed to have been ballistic missiles. The DPRK is banned from testing ballistic missiles under UN Security Council resolutions.