S. Korea, US, Japan hold consultations over N. Korea's latest missile launches

Senior diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan held telephone consultations Monday to share information and discuss responses following North Korea's latest ballistic missile launches, Seoul's foreign ministry said. On Sunday, Pyongyang fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, marking the country's 14th ballistic missile launch of the year and the first in eight days, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Baek Yong-jin, director general for Korean Peninsula policy at the ministry, spoke with David Wilezol, deputy assistant secretary for Northeast Asia at the U.S. State Department, and Takashi Ariyoshi, a senior official at Japan's foreign ministry, according to the ministry. "The three officials shared relevant information and discussed future responses," the ministry said in a release. "The foreign affairs authorities of the three countries operate a channel for promptly sharing information and assessments whenever North Korea launches ballistic missiles," it added. Sunday's launches appeared to have been in response to multinationa