South Korean President Park Geun-hye and U.S. counterpart Barack Obama spoke over the phone about North Korea’s latest nuclear provocation for about 20 minutes Thursday morning, Cheong Wa Dae said.

The two leaders shared the gravity of Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test and the need for stern countermeasures in the phone call that was made at 09:55 a.m., sources said.

A day before, defense ministers of the two allies also held talks over the phone, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter reaffirming Washington’s commitment to the defense of the peninsula including through its extended deterrence.

Carter and South Korea’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo issued a statement after their talks, during which they said the latest experiment constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and threat to the peace and stability of the peninsula and the region.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also held a telephone discussion on Wednesday, and agreed that the North’s claimed hydrogen bomb test is a threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and around the world. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)