Foreign minister Park Jin on Friday held his first video conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken since taking office on Thursday.

Park and Blinken strongly condemned North Korea's provocations, including its ballistic missile launches from Thursday, and agreed to maintain the allies' combined defense posture and bolster coordination against such threats.

According to the foreign ministry, the two officials also reiterated they remained open to dialogue with Pyongyang, and jointly committed to a principled, consistent pursuit of negotiations with the North.

Expressing concerns over the North's first confirmed cases of COVID-19, the two sides agreed to continue discussing ways to provide humanitarian assistance in cooperation with the international community.

Regarding the South Korea-U.S. presidential summit in Seoul set for May 21, Park suggested that the allies seek to further upgrade their comprehensive strategic alliance.

Park and Blinken also shared the view that economic cooperation on issues such as the restoration of global supply chains is becoming ever more important, pledging to reinforce their strategic communication.