Sweden to help improve EU-N.K. ties

Sweden will play a positive role in helping improve relations between the European Union (EU) and North Korea next year when it becomes the EU¡¯s chair country. This was agreed between President Kim Dae-Jung and Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson during their summit talks in Stockholm, Wednesday morning (Korean Standard Time). Kim made an official visit to the Scandinavian country after formally accepting the Nobel Peace Prize at award ceremony in Oslo, Norway. He became the first Korean to be so honored. A government official accompanying the President said he understood that Sweden, the sole Western country with resident embassies in both Seoul and Pyongyang, is promoting a summit meeting with North Korea. During the summit talks, Kim and Persson shared the view that the present inter-Korean armistice agreement should be steadfastly upheld until a new peace system is established by an agreement between South and North Korean authorities.

Prior to his meeting with Persson, President Kim delivered a speech at the Swedish parliament (Riksdag) entitled ¡°Peace on the Korean Peninsula and Sweden,¡± Kim called on Sweden to mark its ascension to the chairmanship by taking the initiative in inducing North Korea to open its doors and advance into the international community. Kim expressed his expectations that Sweden could do more for peace on the Korean Peninsula than any other country, citing the fact that it has most experience with and knowledge of North Korea among Western countries. Parliamentary speaker Birgitta Dahl said in a welcoming address that Kim should be praised for establishing a sound democracy in a once despotic country.