DPRK/North Korea: Declaration by the High Representative

The EU strongly condemns the illegal launch by the DPRK of an intermediate-range ballistic missile on 4th October 2022 that flew over the territory of Japan amid multiple ballistic missile launches over the past week.

This is yet another violation of relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions and a flagrant violation of Japan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity enshrined in the United Nations Charter. This act represents a serious threat to peace and security in the region and worldwide and undermines the global non-proliferation regime.

The EU condemns these repeated illegal provocations and calls on the DPRK to refrain from any action that could further increase international and regional tensions. The DPRK must immediately comply with UN Security Council resolutions by abandoning all its nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and cease immediately all related activities.

The EU stresses that the unlawful actions taken by the DPRK cannot and will never confer upon it the status of a nuclear-weapon State in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or any other special status. The EU reiterates that it will continue to implement the relevant UNSC resolutions and calls on all UN Member States to also fully implement all UNSC sanctions. The EU urges the DPRK to return immediately to full compliance with its obligations under the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon State and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and to bring into force an Additional Protocol to that agreement and abide by all its other international obligations in accordance with UNSC resolutions. The EU urges the DPRK to refrain from any nuclear tests and sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

The EU expresses its full solidarity with Japan and the Republic of Korea and urges the DPRK to cease its aggressive and destabilising actions, respect international law and resume dialogue with relevant partners. To this end, the EU stands ready to support any meaningful diplomatic process and is committed to working with all relevant partners to build a basis for sustainable peace and security and take steps aimed at pursuing Complete, Verifiable, Irreversible Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.