By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo met with British Ambassador to Korea Colin James Crooks at the speaker's office in Seoul on March 5 to review the agenda for his official visit to United Kingdom in mid-to-late March.

"The United Kingdom was the second-largest troop contributor to the Korean War after the United States," Kim said, noting that Ambassador Crooks, who served as a counselor at the British Embassy in Seoul, organized Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Andong in 1999. "The queen's visit strengthened our bilateral relations."

"Last year, in honor of the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and the United Kingdom, our National Assembly adopted a special resolution to continue to develop bilateral relations," Kim said, adding, "I look forward to revitalizing parliamentary diplomacy between our two countries through my visit to the United Kingdom."

"Our two countries have developed strong economic cooperation based on the Korea-UK FTA, which entered into force in January 2021, and I look forward to the progress of the ongoing FTA enhancement negotiations, which will contribute to enhancing economic security and stabilizing supply chains," Kim said.

In response, Ambassador Crooks said, "I hope to see more investment in renewable energy, including offshore wind, between the two countries," and continued the discussion on the appropriate energy mix between nuclear and renewable energy to realize a post-coal society.

Kim also asked for the UK's interest and cooperation in the Third Democracy Summit to be held in Seoul this month and the AI Stability Summit to be held jointly in May, and asked Ambassador Crooks, who served as the UK's ambassador to North Korea from 2018-2021, for his views on how to guide North Korea toward an open society.