By Kim Hyelin and Kim Minji

President Moon Jae-in and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Dec. 18 discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula, expansion of bilateral cooperation and further development of diplomatic relations in their summit at Cheong Wa Dae.

Lofven is the first Swedish leader to visit Korea in 15 years, and his visit came six months after President Moon visited Stockholm in June.

They both agreed on the continuation of the dialogue momentum in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

President Moon also thanked Sweden for playing an active role in the pursuit of a permanent peace on the peninsula. In 2017, Swedish lawmaker Kent Harstedt was designated by his government as a special envoy to the peninsula, and Stockholm also hosted a meeting of representatives from the two Koreas and the U.S. in January and bilateral working-level talks in October between North Korea and the U.S.

Lofven lauded President Moon's leadership for the denuclearization of and the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, saying, "Sweden has sacrificed for decades to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula and will continue to play all the roles Sweden can."
 
Both sides agreed to reinforce bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, the defense industry, science and technology, and information and communications technology (ICT) and bolster ties in innovation, startups, bio-health and climate change to respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

President Moon also said Korea, the world's first country to launch 5G commercial service, is highly likely to cooperate in ICT such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things with Sweden, which has the most developed ICT in Europe.

The two nations also emphasized cooperation in climate and environmental issues. Mentioning International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, which was proposed by his administration and officially adopted last month by the United Nations, President Moon said he hoped to work in the two fields with Sweden, which has aggressively tackled air pollution.

Lofven said the two countries have doubled their contributions to the Green Climate Fund and praised Seoul and Stockholm's efforts in jointly responding to climate and environmental issues.

After the summit, both leaders attending a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding on health, welfare and gender equality.