▲ President Lee Jae-myung holds a joint press conference with European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 10 (local time).
The Presidential Office stated that the government "will consistently pursue a policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula with a long-term perspective" in response to North Korea's backlash against the joint statement adopted by South Korea and the European Union (EU) at their summit.
A Presidential Office official reaffirmed this stance on June 14, adding, "The EU also supports our government's policy for easing tensions and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula."
Previously, President Lee Jae-myung, European Council President António Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a summit on June 10 and adopted a joint statement containing phrases such as, "We strongly condemn the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea," and "North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear-weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)."
Regarding this, a Presidential Office official accompanying President Lee on his European tour explained, "It is merely an expression of the position already stated by the South Korean government in the statement," adding, "It does not go beyond the position the South Korean government has held so far."
However, North Korea issued a statement in the name of a 'spokesperson for the 10th Department' of the Foreign Ministry on the same day, condemning it as "a clear infringement on our state's sovereignty and a grave hostile act," and claiming that "the ruler of South Korea has cast off the mask of 'peace' they were wearing as a formality."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.