President Moon Talks with UK Prime Minister... Urges Support for G7 Cooperation and Korean Peninsula Peace Process

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 3rd, President Moon Jae-in had a 30-minute phone call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 5:15 PM, exchanging views related to the Group of Seven (G7) summit. President Moon expressed his willingness to cooperate in the G7 discussions and requested support for the Korean Peninsula peace process.

President Moon expressed gratitude for Prime Minister Johnson's attendance at the 'Seoul P4G Summit' and said, "We appreciate the UK inviting our country to this G7 summit."

In response, Prime Minister Johnson said, "We welcome President Moon's participation in the G7 summit," adding, "We expect the invited countries, including Korea, to provide diverse perspectives on key issues such as health and climate change and to broaden the scope of discussions."

Furthermore, Prime Minister Johnson stated, "Korea is an important partner for the UK," and "We welcome Korea's recent investments in the UK in digital sectors such as mobile communications and green projects, and the UK is very enthusiastic about expanding trade with Korea." He also requested attention to global partnerships (GPE) and girls' education, which are special interests of the UK among the G7 summit agenda items.

President Moon said, "We hope that practical solutions for overcoming COVID-19 and preparing for future pandemics will be derived at the G7 summit," and regarding climate change response, he stated that Korea will serve as a bridge between developed and developing countries. He also expressed willingness to cooperate with the UK and others to promote the values of an open society and expand girls' education.

In response, Prime Minister Johnson said, "We welcome President Moon's commitment to contributing to the G7," and "We expect Korea's participation to further enhance the inclusiveness of the G7."

Meanwhile, during the call, President Moon explained the results of the Korea-US summit and requested the continuous support of the UK, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, in efforts to advance the Korean Peninsula peace process. Prime Minister Johnson said, "We appreciate President Moon's consistent willingness for dialogue regarding North Korea," and "We will consider possible support measures to facilitate North Korea's prompt return to dialogue."

This call was made at the request of the UK, the chair country of this year's G7, as part of prior consultations with G7 participating countries.