He met President Moon Jae-in earlier on Thursday and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha the previous day.

   "It is also a fact to NATO allies that North Korea is developing ballistic missiles capable of hitting cities both in North America and Europe," he said, calling the North Korean capability "a clear and present danger" to NATO partners in the Asian region.

   "NATO takes that threat very seriously. The alliance maintains a strong deterrence posture," he warned. "We have the capability and resolve to respond to any aggression."

   He said NATO is currently focused on using diplomatic, economic and political sanctions against North Korea to achieve a "peacefully negotiated" resolution of the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, he said.

   "The focus now is on how can we put pressure on North Korea to induce them to re-engage in real constructive talks," he said, stressing the importance of full implementation of United Nations Security Council sanctions against the regime.

   "North Korea must understand that complying with international law is not optional and that ruling by fear and menace puts the

regime on the wrong side of history," he said.  

   "Increased pressure on North Korea, with economic, diplomatic and political means, is the best way to make sure this crisis on the Korean Peninsula is solved in a peaceful and negotiated way," he stressed. (Yonhap)