Senior officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea have strongly condemned North Korea's launch of a projectile that appeared to be using ballistic missile technology.

Namazu Hiroyuki, director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, held telephone talks Thursday with US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn.

The three shared the view that North Korea's launching of projectiles with unprecedented frequency and in a new way poses an imminent threat to regional security as well as a clear and serious challenge to the international community.

They reaffirmed that the three countries will work closely together to strengthen regional deterrence and respond to the situation at the United Nations Security Council in an effort to achieve the complete denuclearization of North Korea.

The leaders of Japan, the US and South Korea pledged stronger trilateral security cooperation when they held summit talks last week at the Camp David presidential retreat near Washington.