Korea holds FM talks with Sweden, Finland
Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong talks with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde in Brussels, April 6, in this photo provided by the foreign ministry. Yonhap
Korea's top diplomat had one-on-one talks with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts in Brussels on bilateral ties, the war in Ukraine and Korean Peninsula affairs, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong is on a visit there to attend a meeting of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) foreign ministers. He is the first South Korean foreign minister to join such a high-profile NATO session, after the country was invited as an Asia-Pacific partner of the multilateral alliance.
In Chung's talks with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, Wednesday (local time), the two sides agreed to expand substantive cooperation to such fields as information and communications technology (ICT) and startups, according to the ministry.
Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong shakes hands with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto during a meeting in Brussels, April 6, in this photo provided by the foreign ministry. Yonhap
Chung then had a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and agreed to continue broadening partnerships in startups, the defense industry and the environmental sector.
Haavisto expressed hope for the early launch of direct flight services between Helsinki and South Korea's port city of Busan, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry added.
Chung also briefed the Swedish and Finnish ministers on the security situation in Korea, and they reaffirmed support for Seoul's efforts to resume dialogue involving Pyongyang. They exchanged views on the Ukraine issue as well. (Yonhap)