The latest ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) seriously violates a number of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the European Union said in a statement. According to Brussels, the most recent launch as well as previous ones pose a threat to international peace and security and further aggravate tensions in the region at a time when de-escalation is needed. The EU urged the DPRK to comply with its international obligations: stop the launches and abandon ballistic missiles programs as well as its nuclear weapons program in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
Brussels has also called on the DPRK to engage in an open, meaningful, and credible conversation with the international community. The EU said that it would support such process and dialogue. The High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini, will remain in close contact in the coming days with all of the EU’s international partners, following her address to the UN Security Council earlier this week and her visits to Beijing, New Delhi and Moscow in April this year.
The European Union currently has in place a policy of critical engagement towards the DPRK. The main goals are to support a lasting diminution of tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the region, to uphold the international non-proliferation regime and to improve the situation of human rights in the country. The DPRK and the EU established diplomatic relations in 2001 but first political contact had started already in 1998. The most recent dialogue between the two parties was held in June 2015 in Pyongyang.
