Pentagon chief discusses North Korean threat with Japan, South Korea

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives for a Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations joint briefing on the U.S. policy on Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2022. REUTERS/Al Drago

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Wednesday with the defense ministers of South Korea and Japan about the threats posed by North Korea after a series of missile launches by Pyongyang, the Pentagon said.

International tension has been rising over a series of North Korean ballistic missile tests, actions long banned by the U.N. Security Council. January was a record month of such tests, with at least seven launches including a new type of "hypersonic missile" able to maneuver at high speed.