EU ministers urge DPRK "immediately" back to six-party talks

Foreign ministers from European Union (EU) 25 member states on Tuesday called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to return "immediately" to the six-party talks.

"The (EU) Council strongly condemns the test of a nuclear explosive device proclaimed by the DPRK on 9 October 2006," said a statement issued Tuesday by the EU foreign ministers' meeting.

"The EU will fully implement the provisions of all relevant UNSC Resolutions and notably of Resolution 1718 adopted on 14 October 2006 and of Resolution 1695 adopted on 15 July 2006. The ( EU) Council shall immediately take the necessary steps to that end, " the statement said.

The ministers urged the DPRK to "return immediately to the six- party talks," in particular "to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs," and "to comply with its obligations under the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty)," which include submitting all its nuclear activities to IAEA verification.

The ministers further called on the DPRK to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, refrain from conducting any further nuclear test or missile launch, and re-establish its commitments to a moratorium on missile launching.

Source: Xinhua