Burak Bir
07 January 2025•Update: 08 January 2025
LONDON
The EU on Tuesday condemned North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch of 2025, saying this violated multiple UN Security Council resolutions.
The EU condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, which Pyongyang claims was equipped with a hypersonic warhead, said a statement from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas's office.
The statement noted that this launch violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions and further raises tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
On Monday, South Korea reported that Pyongyang had launched the missile, coinciding with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul amid South Korea’s political crisis.
South Korea has been mired in a prolonged political crisis since last month due to the short-lived martial law.
"The EU expresses its full solidarity with its partners in the region, in particular the Republic of Korea and Japan," said the statement, adding the EU urges North Korea to cease such illegal and escalatory actions, and to take up offers of dialogue by the main parties.
"This is the only path to sustainable peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," added the statement.
Early Tuesday, North Korea confirmed a hypersonic ballistic missile test to address "security threats."
