South Korea vows continued peace push despite North's backlash over EU statement
South Korea said it will keep pursuing denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula after Pyongyang condemned Seoul’s joint statement with the European Union condemning Pyongyang-Moscow military ties.
ROME — Seoul's presidential office vowed to continue its efforts toward peace, even in the face of backlash from Pyongyang over a joint statement by South Korea and the European Union (EU).
On Saturday, Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry denounced Seoul over a joint statement with the EU that described ties between Pyongyang and Moscow as “illegal military cooperation.”
“The chief executive of the ROK displayed his unusual 'frankness' shows that he lost his face to resort [to] the deceptive farce about 'peace declaration' and 'theory on two peaceful states' anymore,” a spokesperson from the North’s Foreign Ministry said.
ROK refers to South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea, while the term "chief executive" likely refers to President Lee Jae Myung.
The joint statement by South Korea and the EU — announced on Wednesday — “strongly” condemned military ties between Russia and North Korea and expressed “grave concern over the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”
DPRK refers to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The joint statement also reaffirmed that Pyongyang would never be recognized as a nuclear-weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
“The EU also supports our government’s policy aimed at reducing tensions and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula,” an official from Seoul’s presidential office said Sunday.
In its Saturday statement, however, the North vowed that it would "deem it a challenge and remain unchanged in its principle of confronting the enemy aimed to definitely treat the ROK as a hostile state," regardless of "whatever the Seoul rulers say and do."
The Lee Jae Myung administration has largely used the term “regret” in reference to North Korea’s provocations and hostile activities since assuming office in June last year. Wednesday’s joint statement with the EU marked the first time in which the Lee administration used the word “condemn” — an expression carrying a stronger connotation than "regret."
“The statement was drafted around positions we have already made public to the international community,” a senior official from the Blue House answered when asked about the change in wording. “There is nothing new in it.”
The South Korean official also dismissed suggestions that the language contradicted the government’s policy of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“It is not inconsistent,” the official said. “We will continue to pursue denuclearization as a matter of principle while also working to establish peace and reduce tensions. These are two goals that must be pursued simultaneously.”
BY OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]
