The leaders of the 27-member European Union have condemned North Korea’s recent series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

They issued a statement Sunday blasting the North’s actions, saying such moves not only violate a U.N. resolution but also pose a serious security threat to the Korean Peninsula and the world as a whole.

The statement hailed the adoption of a new U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on Pyongyang and urged the communist state to swiftly implement measures under the resolution.

Sunday marked the first time in five-and-a-half years for EU leaders to mention North Korea’s nuclear program in a summit statement. Shortly after a summit in 2003, they denounced the North in a statement for withdrawing from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.