South Korea and Estonia agree to boost ties, cooperation

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, and his Estonian counterpart Kersti Kaljulaid shake hands after a bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. / Yonhap

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid agreed Tuesday to enhance the countries' bilateral cooperation in various areas, including cyber defense and fostering startup businesses, Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.

The agreement came in a bilateral summit between the leaders. Kaljulaid arrived here earlier in the day, becoming the first Estonian head of state to visit South Korea since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1991, according to Cheong Wa Dae. She is scheduled to return home Monday following her participation in the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games, which start Friday.

President Moon noted Kaljulaid's visit itself will help upgrade the countries' ties, calling it a great "milestone" in their bilateral relationship, the presidential office said in a press release.

"President Kaljulaid expressed gratitude for President Moon's warm welcome and expressed hope her visit will mark the start of increased exchange of high-level officials between the two countries," it said.

Moon expressed hope of boosting the countries' bilateral cooperation in various areas, including e-government and cyber defense, and noted that Estonia is becoming a global leader in digitalization by introducing the world's first electronic residency identification card system, known as e-Residency.

The Estonian leader called for efforts to increase cooperation at both government and private levels.

The two leaders also welcomed the agreement between South Korea and the Baltic states to launch a joint economic committee, vowing to seek ways to strengthen their countries' economic cooperation through the multilateral committee, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Moon also expressed gratitude for Estonia's support for his country's North Korea policy, while stressing the need to continue engaging the reclusive state in dialogue to end its nuclear ambition.

North Korea has agreed to take part in the Feb. 9-25 Winter Olympic Games after three rounds of government-level talks with South Korea that also marked the first inter-Korean dialogue in more than two years.

Estonia is expected to send a delegation of 20 athletes and officials to the PyeongChang Olympics.

Juri Ratas, prime minister of Estonia, is scheduled to visit South Korea from Feb. 12-14, according to Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)

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