"On October 4, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Japan Minister of Defense Hamada Yasukazu held a call to address the threats posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) [North Korea] nuclear and missile programs," the Defense Department said in a press release. "The two leaders shared assessments and discussed measures to respond to the DPRK’s recent missile launch."
Austin and South Korean National Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup view the missile launch as being "a serious escalation and a clear violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions," the Defense Department said in a separate press release.
Earlier on Tuesday, the US Indo-Pacific Command (PACOM) said the United States conducted separate bilateral military exercises with Japan and South Korea after North Korea's ballistic missile test launch.