EU foreign ministers showed increased concern over the situation on the Korean peninsula on Monday as they were arriving for a regular meeting in Brussels.

A political solution, and ‘for sure not a military’ one is needed, EU Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini said, in response to heightened tensions between the two Koreas.

North Korean missile testing is worrying powers in the region including China.

Britain’s Boris Johnson said he hoped the North Koreans “see sense”, and wanted China to be pressured to exert its influence over the isolated nation.

British foreign minister, Boris Johnson, said “We remain absolutely determined to try to get the North Koreans to see sense and to continue to put pressure on the regime in Pyongyang, and we think the best way to do that is, of course, to put pressure on the Chinese. And we are seeing some progress there, but a lot, a lot more to be done.”

The Mediterranean migration route from Libya and the situation for migrants in the country are also high on the ministers’ agenda, with Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz calling for the route’s complete closure, while still committing to rescue operations.

Kurz also called for the end of Turkey’s EU accession talks, stating he believed other member states are increasingly coming to the same conclusion.

This comes following Turkish President Erdogan saying in recent days that he would be happy to sign any law to reinstate the death penalty in the country, a measure explicitly banned to all EU members.