North sea in northern Europe is part of the Atlantic ocean. It is bordered by the United Kingdom and Norway to the west, Denmark to the south, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France to the east, and the Faroe Islands and Norway's Svalbard archipelago to the north. The North Sea connects to the Atlantic Ocean via the English Channel in the southwest and the Baltic Sea in the east via the Kattegat and Skagerrak straits. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.