South Korea's Lee, EU leaders reject North Korea nuclear status

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and European Union leaders issued a joint statement on Wednesday condemning North Korea’s military cooperation with Russia and its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The statement, released after a summit in Brussels involving Lee, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President Antonio Costa, called for Pyongyang to return to full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a non-nuclear state. The leaders strongly condemned Russia-DPRK illegal military cooperation, which they said enables Russia’s war against Ukraine. They also reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, despite North Korea’s 2003 withdrawal from the NPT and its 2022 declaration as a nuclear state. Leader Kim Jong Un has previously called the country’s nuclear status irreversible, and Pyongyang amended its constitution to formalize its nuclear forces. The statement rejected North Korea’s nuclear status under the NPT, emphasizing that Pyongyang would never be accepted as a nuclear-weapon state. It also supported Lee’s efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue through confidence-building measures, despite North Korea’s repeated rejections of Seoul’s overtures since Lee took office last year. Human rights improvements in North Korea were urged, with calls for greater access by international and humanitarian organizations. The statement also addressed regional tensions, stressing the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait while opposing unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific. Lee’s visit to Europe, which includes stops in Belgium, Italy, and the Vatican, coincides with a recent state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to North Korea. Xi and Kim Jong Un pledged to deepen cooperation, with no public mention of denuclearization, raising concerns about tacit endorsement of Pyongyang’s nuclear status. Lee is also set to attend the Group of Seven summit in France next week.