Brussels, 22/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - During the press conference that followed the EU/United States Summit in Vienna on Wednesday afternoon (see yesterday's EUROPE, pp 4-7/8), President George W. Bush and the Austrian Chancellor and President-in-Office of the European Council, Wolfgang Schüssel, gave North Korea a warning: Pyongyang must renounce its intention to carry out a test launch for a long-range ballistic missile or it will have to face a “strong response” from the international community. “We expect the North Koreans to respect their agreements”, Bush said, alluding to the commitment taken by North Korea in 1999 to freeze missile tests. He also stressed the need to involve the four other countries (China, South Korea, Japan and Russia) in talks with North Korea as they are involved in efforts to obtain dismantling of the North-Korean nuclear weapon. Mr Schüssel stressed that North Korea should comply with international norms and rules. If Pyongyang does not abide by the rules “there will be a strong response to it. And Europe will be part of it”, the European Council president said.
On Sunday (18 June), the EU Heads of Mission in Pyongyang had already conveyed to the authorities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) the following “urgent message” expressed by the Austrian Presidency, on behalf of the Twenty-Five, which reads: “The European Union understands that a test launch of a Taepodong 2 missile by the DPRK may be imminent. In the view of the European Union, such a missile test would be deeply regrettable. Such a provocative act would add considerable tension to an already complex regional situation. It would breach the longstanding moratorium on long-range missile launches. The European Union urges the DPRK to refrain from such a launch”.