The European Union and its partners have condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) export and Russia’s procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles, as well as Russia’s use of these missiles against Ukraine on December 30, 2023, and January 2, 2024.
The statement, released on 9 January, is signed by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of 25 EU countries, the Foreign Ministers of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as Foreign Ministers of Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Guatemala, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, the Republic of Korea, San Marino, and the United Kingdom, and the Secretary of State of the United States of America.
“The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. We are deeply concerned about the security implications that this cooperation has in Europe, on the Korean Peninsula, across the Indo-Pacific region, and around the world,” the statement says.
It also reminds that the transfer of ballistic missiles, along with any other arms and related materiel, from the DPRK to Russia, flagrantly violates multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) – namely resolution 1718 (2006), resolution 1874 (2009), and resolution 2270 (2016) – that Russia itself supported.
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“We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for these weapons exports. We call on the DPRK and Russia to abide by relevant UNSCRs and to immediately cease all activities that violate them,” the EU and its partners say.
