Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone talks and discussed North Korea's recent missile tests.

In a press release Friday, the State Department said that in a phone call with his South Korean counterpart, Blinken reaffirmed the bilateral alliance is the linchpin of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

He also condemned the missile launches as a violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea.

The State Department said that in the phone call, Blinken also highlighted the importance of continued trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

The two officials are also known to have discussed ways to achieve the complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

They also touched on other issues such as the pandemic, the situation in Myanmar and tensions in Ukraine.

The phone conversation came shortly after North Korea said it fired two tactical guided missiles into the East Sea, the third show of force in a little over a week.

[Photo : YONHAP News]