Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-05-30-Speech-3-121"
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"en.20010530.6.3-121"2
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"Mr President, the Socialist Group welcomes very much the official visit to North Korea and to Seoul by the Council, Commission and the High Representative of the CFSP. Commissioner Patten, when he reported back to the Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, said that the visit had gone ahead with modest aims, but those modest aims have been achieved and we welcome that.
As a parliamentarian, I am rather disappointed that the delegation managed to fit in 75 journalists but could not manage any parliamentarians on the grounds that the delegation was a small one. I hope on future occasions the Commission and the Council might consider taking some parliamentarians along, particularly in the light of the fact that relations between North Korea and the European Union were pioneered by the European Parliament, over two years ago, when we sent our first official delegation.
I welcome the fact that there were good talks with Kim Chong-il. Clearly North Korea is a state of concern. We welcome the fact that they are continuing their moratorium on missile tests until 2004. I recognise that at the moment they have very little option but to export military equipment. They produce hardly any goods that anyone wants to buy apart from military equipment. So it is hardly surprising that the No-dong I and No-dong II weapons which have a range of 1 300 kilometres have been sold to Iran, Syria and Pakistan or that the North Koreans are giving military aid to the Congo, Iran, Ethiopia and Syria.
The problem will be if they continue to test the Taepodong, which will have a range of something between 4 000 and 6 000 kilometres. Obviously we welcome the moratorium.
We welcome the further aid that is going to given in the form of food aid. We need improved access for European Union monitors to make sure that the aid is being distributed properly. We welcome the increased assistance in the agricultural sector, particularly in the life of what we have been told that there is now some recognition that reform has to take place. It is important to train North Koreans in modern industrial and clerical skills and we need to give aid in a non-nuclear energy sector as well as raising the textile quotas. It is important that we have a human rights dialogue and I welcome the fact that on 13 June that dialogue is going to take place.
No one has mentioned KADO; the European Union is participating in the KADO programme for building two nuclear power stations in North Korea. Unfortunately, we have cut the budget this time compared to the last time and if we are serious about assisting Kim Dae-jung with his sunshine policy that sends exactly the wrong signals. We are very keen that diplomatic relations be established and I urge the Commission and the Council to consider placing an office in Pyongyang rather than making the Beijing office responsible for North Korea. There will be no day-to-day contact if that is the case.
There is a distinction at the moment between the EU and the US and we hope we can move forward together, but if we cannot we will have to move forward separately, because the direction we are going is the right one."@en1
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