Date of release : 07-05-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Event : Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Foreign Ministers

On 6-7 May 2005, Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs and current President of the Council of the European Union, took part in an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) of Foreign Ministers in Kyoto, Japan.

At the final press conference of the meeting, Jean Asselborn made the following statement on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea:

“At the Asia-Europe Meeting today, I expressed the European Union's concern at the worrying statements by the North Korean authorities on the possession of nuclear weapons, the suspension of its moratorium on missile testing and its unwillingness to return to the Six-Party Talks.

For the European Union, the Six-Party Talks are the key process to address and hopefully solve this issue. We therefore strongly urge the DPRK to return to the negotiation table unconditionally and without any further delay.

The human rights situation in North Korea remains another cause for great concern in the European Union. Unfortunately, no progress at all was made since we last met. The DPRK has even refused to restart a dialogue on human rights with the European Union.

I would like to draw your attention in this context to the resolution on the human rights situation in the DPRK, which was adopted last month by the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and had been co-sponsored by the European Union and Japan."