Top defense officials from the U.S. and South Korea “strongly condemned” North Korea’s continued missile tests this year and “recent preparations for a nuclear test,” according to Seoul’s defense ministry Wednesday.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Minister of Defense Lee Jong-sup made the remarks during a phone call late Wednesday, their first conversation since ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol took office earlier this month.

Both Washington and Seoul have warned in recent weeks that North Korea could carry out its first nuclear test since 2017, with the State Department