Parliamentary questions
WRITTEN QUESTION P-2757/03
by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Council
(04 September 2003)

Subject: Nuclear crisis in North Korea

With a view to resolving the nuclear crisis in North Korea, negotiations attended by representatives of North and South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the USA have recently been held in Beijing.

As is stated in the most recent Commission report on the Humanitarian Aid Office (COM(2003) 430), the EU is the main donor of humanitarian aid to North Korea, to which country it allocates much of the humanitarian aid which it assigns to Asia.

In the conclusions issued at the recent Thessaloniki Summit the European Council Presidency emphasised its 'readiness to contribute to a multilateral diplomatic solution to the crisis'.

Can the Council explain why the European Union was not represented at the Beijing negotiations?

What action does the Council intend to take in order to ensure that EU representatives are involved in future political and diplomatic negotiations on the delicate issue of nuclear disarmament in North Korea?

Reply
(written question: P-2757/03)
(8 December 2003)

The EU strongly supports the diplomatic efforts undertaken by the six parties to achieve a solution to the North Korean proliferation issue. The EU hopes that the process will soon lead to concrete steps to lower tension in the region, including progress towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, a matter of fundamental interest to the whole international community.

The EU remains willing to contribute to international efforts to move matters forward, and acts in close consultation with the main players. It is considering how it could give support to the multilateral talks in due course and in co-ordination with the capitals of the six countries involved.