SEOUL, South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy has called for joint efforts with the European Union to block North Korea from earning money through illicit channels, such as cyberactivities, as a means to fund its nuclear and missile development, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Kim Gunn, special representative for the Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the call during a visit to the EU headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday (local time), taking note of the North’s recent belligerence and missile provocations that pose serious risks to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Europe.

During the briefing at a session of the EU’s Political Security Committee, Kim “called on South Korea and the EU to respond sternly together against North Korea’s illegal acts,” with a focus on “cutting off the funding channels for nuclear and missile development,” the ministry said.

Kim proposed South Korea and the EU “bolster coordination in their responses to the North’s illegal cyberactivities, includ
ing hacking and the sending of IT personnel overseas,” it said.

Kim explained that the arms transfers and military cooperation between North Korea and Russia are a flagrant violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions and a “representative example that shows the security in the Indo-Pacific and that in Europe are inseparable.”

During the visit, Kim also met with Enrique Mora Benavente, deputy secretary general for political affairs at the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS), and Niclas Kvarnstrom, the EEAS chief for Asia and the Pacific affairs, for discussions on North Korean threats and its human rights issues.

Source: Yonhap News Agency