North Korea on South Korea-EU Statement: "Ruler Has Cast Off Mask of Peace, Hostile Principle Unchanged"

Statement Issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 10-Nation Spokespersons’ Group Targeting South Korea

North Korea has recently criticized the joint statement from the South Korea–European Union (EU) summit, claiming that it has "thrown off the mask of 'peace.'"

President Lee Jae-myung, António Costa, the President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, are leaving the press conference room on the 10th (local time) after a joint press release at the EU Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On June 13, North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through a statement issued by a spokesperson for the “10-Nation Spokespersons’ Group,” declared that the joint statement adopted during President Lee Jaemyung’s European tour was evidence that “the ruler of South Korea has cast aside the cumbersome mask of peace.”

The spokesperson said, “Whatever the authorities in Seoul may say or do, it is a challenge against us, and our principle of treating South Korea as a thoroughly hostile state remains unchanged.”

Referring to the joint statement’s refusal to recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and its condemnation of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, the spokesperson argued, “This constitutes a blatant infringement on our nation’s sovereignty and a grave hostile act. It is no different from discarding the deceptive banners of ‘respect for the system’ and ‘non-pursuit of hostile acts’ that have been repeatedly proclaimed until now.”

The spokesperson further stated, “Through this declaration of confrontation, the South Korean leader has proven that ‘peaceful coexistence’ between the North and South is impossible and that the two countries will remain forever hostile. The South Korean leader’s display of his characteristic ‘frankness’ shows that he no longer has the standing to stage more deceptive acts such as ‘peace declarations’ or the notion of ‘two peaceful nations.’”

The statement continued, “Leaving aside hostility toward our nation, South Korea is the number one hostile state that cannot possibly coexist with us. Its true nature and destiny is to be the ‘dagger’ that the United States uses to invade Korea and the Asian continent. It was inevitable that this ‘dagger,’ favored by the United States, would tear through the silk veil of ‘peace’ and be revealed.”

On June 10 in Brussels, President Lee Jaemyung, António Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, held a summit and adopted a joint statement that included phrases such as “condemnation of illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea” and “North Korea will never be recognized as a nuclear-armed state under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).”

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