Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The European Union strongly condemned the launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of a new type of long-range ballistic missile on April 13. A statement issued in Brussels on Saturday evening said the DPRK's repeated demonstration of its determination to continue developing means of delivery of weapons of mass destruction threatens international peace and security. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea must cease all illegal and dangerous actions that violate UN Security Council resolutions and recklessly escalate military tensions in the region.
The European Union reiterated that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea must immediately comply with its obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions by abandoning, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, all its nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missile programs and existing nuclear programmes, and cease all related activities. This is the only viable way to achieve sustainable peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons or any other special status for that matter. The EU urged the DPRK to immediately return to full compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear weapon state and the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, implement the Additional Protocol and sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. . The DPRK's use of resources to support its illegal weapons programs exacerbates the difficult living conditions of much of its population.
The European Union once again called on the international community to respond in a unified and firm manner to uphold the international non-proliferation architecture and to prevent the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from further escalating military tensions in the region. It is critical that all UN member states, especially UN Security Council members, ensure full implementation of UN sanctions and urge the DPRK to resume meaningful dialogue with all key parties.
The European Union expressed its full solidarity with the Republic of Korea and Japan. The EU stands ready to work with all relevant partners in promoting a meaningful diplomatic process aimed at building sustainable peace and security through the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.