S. Korean, US diplomats discuss alliance, regional security over phone

Seoul, Jan 12 (IANS) Senior diplomats of South Korea and the US held talks over the phone on Wednesday and discussed the bilateral alliance and other issues on the Korean Peninsula, according to officials.Yeo Seung-bae, deputy foreign minister for political affairs, and his US counterpart Daniel Kritenbrink had comprehensive discussions on regional and global issues, a foreign ministry official said without elaborating, Yonhap news agency reported."I had a great conversation with Deputy Foreign Minister Yeo on the US-ROK relationship and our close collaboration on shared regional and global challenges," Kritenbrink tweeted, using the acronym for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.As for whether North Korea was discussed during the talks, the official said the allies are in close consultations over various matters, including the Korean Peninsula issue. Earlier this week, the North once again test-fired what it claims to be a hypersonic missile.
--IANS int/sks/bg

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