ROK president in Sweden to boost innovation cooperation

President of Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in was in Sweden on Thursday and Friday to talk about innovation, inclusivity and the Korean Peninsula issue, as part of a state visit to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Innovation and industry were the main focus of the meeting between Moon and Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, during which the two leaders agreed to increase innovation cooperation, including a decision to set up a start-up center in Stockholm for South Korean businesses, according to a press release issued by the Swedish government on Saturday.

"As two of the world's most innovative countries, Sweden and South Korea have a great deal to learn from each other and many reasons to cooperate on new technology, digitalisation and sustainability issues," said Swedish Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation Ibrahim Baylan in a press release.

The two sides also talked about the Korean Peninsula issue during the meeting and hoped for a successful third summit between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Swedish News SVT.

At a joint press conference on Saturday morning after their talks, Moon mentioned the possibility of a third summit between Kim and Trump, saying that effort should be make to prevent a "fruitless outcome" as in the second Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi in February.

"I hope Sweden will continue to be a partner for peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon added.

Lofven said at the press conference that "Sweden is ready to contribute to peace as much as we can."

Moon also appreciated Sweden's models of equality and social welfare, saying that South Korea hoped to learn from Sweden's insights on solving social and gender inequality.

Moon's delegation consisted mostly of representatives from South Korea's Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

His state visit to Sweden is part of a wider Nordic tour, which had taken him to Finland and will take him to Norway in the coming days.