The joint meeting was intended for European Union Heads of Missions accredited to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who are posted either in Pyongyang, Seoul or Beijing. During the meeting, the participants discussed current development in the DPRK and the wider region.
Twenty-four diplomats from EU Member States (mostly on Ambassadorial level) took part in the meeting together with Head of the EU Delegation in Seoul and Head of Political Section of the EU Delegation in Beijing. The meeting concluded with a buffet lunch during which other invited representatives of EU embassies and embassies of like-minded countries had the opportunity to discuss the topics with the Ambassadors.
Given the topicality of the DPRK issue the discussion was very lively. Recently, the situation on the Korean Peninsula has been discussed heavily in relation to North-Korean nuclear and missile tests and sanctions against the DPRK with which the international community reacted to these provocations. The recent 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (first for nearly 36 years) and strained inter-Korean relations also continue to attract the attention.
The joint EU HoMs meeting was the second of its kind with the previous similar meeting having been held under the Czech EU Presidency in 2009. However, at the end of the meeting, its participants valued the opportunity to meet in this format and agreed on the desirability of holding this kind of meeting more regularly.