On Friday 9 March, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini hailed the recent "positive" developments on the situation in the Korean peninsula – particularly the organisation of summits, which she described as "welcome".
Noting "the DPRK's reported commitment to enter into negotiations on denuclearisation and refrain from testing nuclear weapons or missiles during these negotiations", Mogherini said that if the announcements were corroborated, they "could create the necessary conditions towards a negotiated solution". The EU continues to fully support the objective of the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, she announced in a press release.
The EU is furthermore "encouraged by the announcement of a summit meeting between Republic of Korea's President Moon and DPRK leader Kim Jong-un in April, and fully supports the efforts of the Republic of Korea in this regard" (see EUROPE 11975). Mogherini added that US "President Trump's readiness to accept Kim Jong Un's invitation to a summit meeting by May also represents a positive development". The US White House announced on 8 March that Trump agreed to meet the North Korean leader – but the place and date of the meeting are not yet known.
Mogherini also said that the EU is awaiting the outcomes of these summit meetings. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)