Anchor: The European Union has stressed that North Korea’s denuclearization must be achieved through peaceful means, amid some calls for military options by the United States. The EU member countries also agreed to consider imposing new sanctions against North Korea.
Alannah Hill has more.
 
Report: The EU called for a diplomatic and political solution rather than a military solution to realize the North’s denuclearization.
 
Upon her arrival at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the EU trusts the leadership and ownership of the Republic of Korea in the process of dealing with the North.
 
[Sound bite: EU Foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (English)]
"We will discuss with the ministers what we can do more to facilitate a solution that in our view cannot be but a diplomatic and political one; for sure not a military solution for the situation in the Korean peninsula, as the South Korean have pointed out very clear." 
 
In a statement on Monday, foreign ministers of the EU member nations expressed European support for South Korean efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue.
 
The EU foreign ministers condemned the North’s recent missile test as a “serious threat to international peace and security”, warning they would consider further appropriate sanctions.
 
The EU repeated its calls for the North to abandon its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.
 
It also promised efforts to ensure the sanctions against the North will have actual impact through close consultation with EU members that have diplomatic relations with the communist country.
 
The EU’s stance on the North Korean issue is in contrast with the U.S.’, which is discussing the possibility of military action after the North’s recent ballistic missile test launch. 
Alannah Hill, KBS World Radio News. 

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