South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday held telephone talks about nuclear and missile issues on the Korean Peninsula, Moon's office said.
Moon and Abe had the phone conversation for about 30 minutes earlier in the day, sharing a view that the nuclear and missile issues concerning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should be resolved through dialogue and in a peaceful manner while maintaining strong pressure and sanctions, according to the presidential Blue House.
President Moon has maintained a position that another war must be prevented from breaking out on the peninsula, stressing the importance of dialogue with the DPRK for an eventual resolution.
The annual South Korea-U.S. command post military exercise, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), started earlier this week, but it was scaled down compared with last year. The joint war game will last until next Thursday.
Pyongyang tested what it called an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) twice last month, escalating tensions on the peninsula. It was followed by the war of words between Pyongyang and Washington.
The tensions eased recently as Pyongyang delayed its missile strike targeting the waters off the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific. U.S. President Donald Trump praised it as a wise and well-reasoned decision.
