Pyongyang: North Korea on Saturday criticized a recent joint statement by South Korea and the European Union (EU) that condemned its military cooperation with Russia, stating it will persist in regarding Seoul as "a hostile state." In a press statement released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's foreign ministry labeled South Korea as "an invariable enemy state obsessed with hostility and confrontation."
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and EU leaders issued their joint statement Wednesday during Lee's summit talks with Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, at the EU headquarters in Brussels. The statement condemned the North-Russia military cooperation amid the war in Ukraine as "illegal" and urged both nations "to immediately cease all such activities and abide by the United Nations Charter and all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions." The leaders also expressed "grave concerns" over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
In retaliation, the North Korean foreign ministry declared the joint statement as "a clear infringement on the sovereignty of our state and a grave hostile act." It accused President Lee of discarding "the bothersome mask of 'peace'" and labeled South Korea as "the first enemy state." The ministry asserted that "the DPRK will deem it a challenge and remain unchanged in its principle of confronting the enemy aimed to definitely treat the ROK as a hostile state."
The DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name, while the ROK refers to the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name. The statement further emphasized that the South's leadership has demonstrated that "there can never be 'peaceful coexistence' between the DPRK and the ROK," and accused South Korea of being "an accomplice with same ulterior motives as the Ukrainian puppet forces."