President Lee Jae Myung and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre shake hands ahead of their summit at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre shake hands ahead of their summit at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday (local time). [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Wednesday (local time) for a bilateral summit, opening the talks by congratulating Norway on its World Cup quarterfinal berth after defeating Brazil and expressing hope for further victories.

Lee, who is visiting Turkey to attend the NATO summit, met Støre at a hotel in Ankara for a 36-minute session. "I should begin with congratulations," Lee said. "You've made it to the World Cup quarterfinals, and your submarine was selected as well."

Canada announced Monday that it had chosen Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred bidder for its next-generation submarine project, valued at up to 60 trillion won ($39.3 billion).

The submarine is being jointly developed by Germany and Norway.

Lee then said he had watched a Norwegian promotional video after the round-of-16 match and found it "very good," mimicking a rowing motion with his fists clenched.

Imitating the so-called Viking rowing cheer associated with Norwegian football fans, Lee said he hoped to see them "row one more time."

President Lee Jae Myung mimics the Norwegian football team's Viking rowing cheer during his summit with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday (local time). [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung mimics the Norwegian football team's Viking rowing cheer during his summit with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at a hotel in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday (local time). [Yonhap]

Lee also said "the current international situation is very unstable," adding that the more limited individual nations are in overcoming this crisis on their own, the more important cooperation and exchange between countries becomes.

He said South Korea and Norway "are developing a deep relationship that brings great benefit in the areas of economy, industry, culture and defense," and called on both sides to hold "an in-depth discussion on how to further deepen that relationship going forward."

Lee also expressed gratitude for Norway's medical support during the Korean War, saying South Korea "remembers and is thankful for the medical assistance Norway provided during the June 25 War, even before the two countries had established diplomatic relations."

Støre said the meeting brought back fond memories of their encounter on the sidelines of last year's G20 summit. "I recall a good conversation with you at last year's dinner about the bilateral relationship, and since then there has been much progress in the potential between Norway and South Korea," he said.

He added that "there have been important decisions in the defense sector between our two countries, and they were good decisions for the development of our strategic partnership," saying the two sides "continue to move forward in the areas of security, trade and technology."

The remarks appeared to refer to a deal Hanwha Aerospace signed earlier this year with Norway — a full-package supply contract worth $922 million covering the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system and guided missiles.

Støre said he hoped the meeting would serve as "a good opportunity to discuss how to further develop the relationship between our two countries."


sang@heraldcorp.com