Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se held talks with top diplomats of five Nordic countries on Thursday, as Korea is seeking to deepen cooperation on Arctic research, climate change and scientific development.
The unprecedented meeting with Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland took place in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
The five are members of the 87-nation Nordic Council, an official inter-parliamentary forum launched in 1952 to discuss globalization, climate and freedom of movement, among other issues of common interest.
During the 45-minute consultation, the sides reviewed the political situation in the region and concurred on the need to intensify coordination on Arctic development, climate change and other global issues, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The meeting reflects our efforts to broaden our diplomatic horizons as a responsible middle power in the international community by establishing cooperation channels with regional consultative bodies around the world,” the ministry said.
Since Yun took office early last year, Seoul has been ramping up what it calls middle power diplomacy aimed at raising its say on regional and global conundrums by bridging the advanced and developing worlds.
The latest forum marked the second communication channel with European countries following Yun’s meeting in July with the Visegrad Group, an alliance of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
Korea also launched an informal consultation body dubbed MIKTA with Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey and Australia in September 2013.
With Nordic countries, Seoul has set its sights on Arctic research and business, sharing know-how in scientific development, renewable energy and other clean technologies.
The country has been conducting environment and climate studies with international teams in the Arctic. It set up the Arctic Dasan Station on a Norwegian island in 2002 and since 2010 has been operating ARAON, an icebreaker built by Hanjin Heavy Industries. Korea became a permanent observer last year to the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum intended to address related issues.
By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
