Jung Pak, the U.S. assistant secretary of state and deputy special representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, April 25, 2023. AP-Yonhap

South Korea and the United States agreed to launch a working-level consultative body to tackle North Korea's illegal smuggling of refined oil, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

Lee Jun-il, South Korea's deputy nuclear envoy, and U.S. Senior Official for North Korea Jung Pak agreed to step up the allies' bilateral cooperation with the launch of the body during their phone talks earlier in the day, according to the ministry.

"Noting that North Korea continues to smuggle refined oil in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, the two sides agreed to bolster their cooperation a step further to block such efforts through the launch of the South Korea-U.S. consultative body," the ministry said.

The two sides also expressed deep concerns over the North's continued military provocations and its "hostile policy and aggressive rhetoric" toward South Korea.

Under UNSC sanctions, the North is banned from importing more than 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products per year.

In a report released early Thursday, the panel under the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee on the North estimated North Korean-flagged tankers would have delivered 1,523,381 barrels between Jan. 1 and Sept. 15 last year.

Lee is currently serving as South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator after its top nuclear envoy, Kim Gunn, recently resigned to join the ruling People Power Party ahead of the April general elections. (Yonhap)