Oct. 7 () –
The European Union has “strongly” condemned the launch by North Korea on October 4 of a ballistic missile that flew over the territory of Japan and fell into the Pacific Ocean, an event that had not occurred since 2017, five years ago .
“This is a further violation of relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and a flagrant violation of Japan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as enshrined in the UN Charter,” the office of the High Representative said in a statement. of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell.
Specifically, the Union has described the launch of the missile by Pyongyang as a “serious threat” to peace and security in the region, as well as throughout the world.
For this reason, Brussels has asked Pyongyang to refrain from any action that could increase “further” international and regional tensions, while calling on North Korea to comply with the UN Security Council resolutions by abandoning all its nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
“The European Union underlines that the illegal actions carried out by North Korea cannot and will never confer on it the status of a nuclear-weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or any other special status,” warned the office of the High Representative.
However, Brussels has expressed its full solidarity with Japan and South Korea and has reiterated its request to North Korea to stop its “aggressive and destabilizing” actions, and to respect international law and resume dialogue with Seoul.
“To this end, the Union stands ready to support any meaningful diplomatic process and is committed to working with all relevant partners to build a foundation for sustainable peace and security and to take steps to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,” says the statement released by Borrell’s office.
The governments of Japan and South Korea announced last Tuesday that Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile that would have fallen into the Pacific Ocean, flying over part of the territory of the Japanese country, a fact that had not happened since 2017.
The Japanese government issued a warning about the launch of the North Korean missile to the population of the prefectures of Hokkaido and Aomori, in the north of the country, urging residents in the affected regions to take cover immediately to save themselves.
