S. Korea’s nuclear envoy discusses N.K. threats with Swedish counterpart

South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy vowed unwavering efforts to stop North Korea’s missile provocations and make it return to dialogue during his talks with his Swedish counterpart Wednesday, the foreign ministry said.

Kim Gunn, special representative for the Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, made the point in the meeting with Peter Semneby, who was visiting South Korea this week, the ministry said in a release.

Kim reaffirmed South Korea’s commitment to creating conditions that will make the North stop provocations and come back to denuclearization talks, despite the recent flare-up of tensions amid Pyongyang’s continued missile launches and its hostility toward the South.

During the talks, Kim stressed that denuclearizing North Korea is a prerequisite for achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the shared objective of the international community.

Semneby, in turn, explained Sweden’s diplomatic efforts regarding the North’s nuclear and missile issues, and promised to continue close communication with South Korea over the matters.

Sweden offered the venue for the working-level talks between the two Koreas in late 2019 following the no-deal Hanoi summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and then U.S. President Donald Trump earlier that year.

The talks in Stockholm took place in October 2019, but no progress was made.