Cheong Wa Dae Says It Will Consistently Pursue Long-Term Peaceful Coexistence Policy Despite North Korea's Protest Over Korea-EU Joint Statement

 [Financial News, Rome, Italy = Reporter Choi Jong-geun]Cheong Wa Dae said on the 14th that, in response to North Korea's protest over the joint statement adopted by President Lee Jae Myung and the European Union (EU) at their summit, "the government will consistently pursue its policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula with a long-term perspective."
A Cheong Wa Dae official emphasized the point, saying, "The EU also supports our government's policy to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula and establish peace."
Earlier, after holding summit talks on the 10th with António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Lee adopted a joint statement that included the following: "We condemn third-party support that enables Russia's continued war of aggression against Ukraine, especially North Korea's support. We strongly condemn the illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea."
In this regard, a senior Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters at a local press center in Rome, Italy, on the 12th local time that some might say condemning North Korea for supporting the Russo-Ukrainian War in the joint statement issued after the summit was inconsistent with an approach aimed at easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, but that was not the case.
The official added, "It is not contradictory. The principle is always to state and pursue our principles, pursue denuclearization, and at the same time pursue peace-building and tension reduction. All of that is reflected." The official continued, "We reflected our position on easing tensions and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, and the European Union (EU) agreed because that is our stated position and one the EU also supports, so it is all reflected in the joint statement."
North Korea then issued a statement in the name of a spokesperson for the 10th Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, calling it "a clear violation of our state's sovereignty and a grave hostile act" and accusing the South Korean leadership of "throwing off the mask of 'peace' it had been awkwardly wearing."
cjk@fnnews.com Choi Jong-geun Reporter