Today, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea directly threatened Japan for the second time with its ballistic missile launch. Hungary expresses solidarity with the people of Japan, and condemns in the strongest terms the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic missile program, which poses a serious danger to global security. Today’s missile test has again demonstrated that North Korea rejects cooperation with the international community, and is determined to continue the development of its nuclear arsenal.

Hungary is calling for increasing political, economic and diplomatic pressure to be put on North Korea through the adoption of stricter and more comprehensive UN sanctions. It is indispensable to create an even closer coordination between responsible members of the international community in order to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. We also support the introduction of further autonomous sanctions against the DPRK on the part of the European Union in order to achieve maximum pressure. It is the firm standpoint of the Hungarian Government that North Korea must not be recognised as a nuclear power under any circumstances.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade)