Top nuclear envoys of South Korea and the United States held phone talks Tuesday over North Korea's latest launch of a ballistic missile and stressed the importance of maintaining the allies' combined defense posture, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Noh Kyu-duk, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and his American counterpart, Sung Kim, discussed the matter, hours after the North test-fired the missile toward the East Sea in its second show of force this year.

The two sides "emphasized the importance of maintaining a firm combined defense posture based on the robust South Korea-US alliance," the ministry said.

The envoys also agreed on the need for the stable management of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula on the basis of close cooperation and to continue to work to revive peace efforts for the region, it added.

Noh held separate phone talks with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, and agreed to continue close "communication" with each other with regard to North Korea, it said. (Yonhap)