North Korea's missile test fire in Pyongan province (Photo: AFP/VNA)

At a press conference after the talks on Thursday, Minister Hamada said North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Wednesday and Japan strongly condemned it. Japan, the US, and South Korea should strengthen cooperation because there is a possibility that North Korea will have another launch in the near future, he said.

South Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Park Yong-min called North Korea's satellite launch a serious incident in which Pyongyang took advantage of technology to violate global norms and undermine international order.