Foreign Affairs Council

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has attended the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union, where she explained the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the upcoming summits between Seoul and Pyongyang as well as Pyongyang and Washington. She asked the European Union for continuous support for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The EU responded by pledging to continue to implement sanctions against North Korea while promoting denuclearization.

[Pkg]

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has attended the European Union Foreign Affairs Council. She is the first South Korean foreign minister to be invited to the event. Kang explained the developments on the Korean Peninsula since the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, such as the agreement to hold an inter-Korean summit and talks between Pyongyang and Washington. Kang expressed gratitude to the European Union for its all-out support for denuclearization, which helped create the atmosphere of dialogue on the Korean Peninsula and persuaded North Korea to
change its attitude.

[Soundbite] Kang Kyung-wha(Minister of Foreign Affairs)

The South Korean foreign minister also asked the EU to provide its support for the South Korean government's efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. In response, Federica Mogherini, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, highly credited the South Korean government for managing to turn the precarious situation on the Korean Peninsula into diplomatic talks. She added that the upcoming summit between North Korea and the United States slated for May will play a crucial role in solving the North Korea nuclear crisis.

[Soundbite] Federica Mogherini(E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs)

The EU also vowed to strictly implement UN sanctions until the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.