South Korea, Canada vow cooperation on North Korea issue, trade

President Moon Jae-in and Canada’s Governor General Julie Payette shake hands ahead of their talks at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Payette, a former astronaut, is visiting Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, which will begin Friday. Moon asked for Canada’s continued support and interest in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. / Yonhap

By Kim Rahn

President Moon Jae-in expressed gratitude to Canadian Governor General Julie Payette for supporting South Korea’s efforts to peacefully resolve the issues of North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.

Payette is among dozens of foreign dignitaries participating in the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games that start Friday.

“We hope the mood for peace, which began with the North’s participation in the Olympics, will continue after the Games, leading to improvement of inter-Korean relations and peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue,” Moon told Payette in a bilateral talk at Cheong Wa Dae.

“I thank Canada for supporting Seoul’s North Korea policy, and I hope your continuous support will help the ongoing peace mood continue.”

The two agreed to strengthen trade and technology cooperation, reviewing that the strategic partnership formed in 2014 has intensified cooperation through a free trade deal that took effect in 2015 and through the Science, Technology and Innovation Agreement signed in 2017.

Payette noted the science agreement has upgraded Korea-Canada relations, enabling them to advance together beyond just economic and personnel exchanges.

Moon pointed out Sarah Murray, head coach of the South-North joint women’s hockey team, is Canadian, and Payette added the South Korean men’s hockey team head coach Jim Paek is also Canadian, hoping the two teams will do well during the Games.

Payette, a former astronaut, offered Moon a photo of Seoul taken from space, saying it was her first visit to Korea but she used to look at Korea from space during her astronaut days.

Later in the day, Moon also held a summit with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Moon expressed his gratitude to the heads of all three Baltic countries ― Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia ― for coming for the Olympics, saying their visits will be an important turning point for the development of South Korea’s relations with the three nations.

The two leaders recognized the construction of an LNG terminal at the port of Klaipeda, a Lithuanian coastal city, in which Hyundai Heavy Industries built an LNG floating storage and regasification unit. The leaders agreed to expand cooperation in energy and technology.

Grybauskaite expressed hopes for more cooperation with South Korea, adding two-way trade expanded from $4.8 million in 1993 to $390 million in 2017.