Senior officials from Japan, the United States and South Korea have met in Japan and condemned North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches. They reaffirmed that their countries will continue to work closely together toward denuclearization of the North.

The meeting at a resort town in Nagano prefecture on Thursday was attended by the head of Japan's Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Funakoshi Takehiro, US Special Representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, and South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, Kim Gunn.

Funakoshi stated that North Korea's missile launches present a major threat to peace and stability of the region and he strongly condemns them.

He and his two counterparts agreed that their countries will continue to work closely together toward a complete denuclearization of North Korea, through an expansion of their deterrent and response capabilities, as well as steady implementation of sanctions against the North.

The three officials also reaffirmed that the diplomatic door for dialogue with North Korea is open.

They agreed that they will cooperate in preparing for a trilateral summit that is expected to be held in the United States in late August, between Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, US President Joe Biden, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.