President Moon Jae-in is now in Sweden on the third and final leg of a week-long tour of Northern Europe.
While the highlight of his state visit to Sweden is expected to be his address to the Swedish parliament later this evening - where he will discuss denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and lessons to be learned from the Swedish example of denuclearization - President Moon again called for a June summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before he left Norway for Sweden last night.
Shin Semin reports.
The South Korean leader is continuing efforts to propel the peace process forward,... starting with a possible fourth summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Speaking in Norway on Thursday, President Moon Jae-in said the timing, location and formality of his proposed summit does not matter to him, but he insisted it could be arranged before the end of June.
Having done his part, President Moon said the ball in now in North Korea's court.
"The two Koreas have held summits swiftly in the past after a short amount of preparation, so it isn't impossible. Whether or not Chairman Kim decides to accept is up to him."
President Moon is expected to keep prodding Pyeongyang to the summit table on Friday as he continues his trip to Northern Europe.
Starting his state visit to Sweden, the South Korean leader will deliver a speech on inter-Korean peace to the European country's parliament.
He's likely to focus on the need for high-level dialogue to deal with the regime's denuclearization and to reinvigorate inter-Korean relations.
Key points of his speech are expected to include the importance of duty and responsibility among all the related parties.
Watchers say President Moon could use that angle to nudge the North to make the first serious move on denuclearization in order to establish a degree of trust between Pyeongyang and Washington.
He may also reiterate the need for the international community, including European countries, to continue backing his peace initiative for the Korean Peninsula.
"With President Moon on a mission to get the North to the summit table as soon as possible,… his speech at Sweden's parliament on Friday will be an opportunity to hear his envisaged path to peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News, Stockholm."
