South Korean President Moon urges North Korea to resume dialogue

South Korean President Moon Jae-in urgedneighbouring North Korea to engage in dialogue and show "itscommitment to completely dismantling its nuclear weapons" in a speechFriday at the Swedish parliament."Dialogues with the outside world, whether they may be bilateral ormultilateral, must go on until North Korea earns the trust of theinternational community," Moon said.Moon said that sanctions against North Korea would be lifted inreturn for "sincere efforts." He pledged that peaceful dialogue wouldalso mean that "no one would threaten the political system or safetyof North Korea."Taking questions after his speech, Moon told a Swedish lawmaker thatthe two Korean states would also work to reduce conventional weaponsonce the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was achieved.Informal contacts continue "beneath the surface" between North Koreaand South Korea, as well as between the US and North Korea, he said.Moon earlier this week said he hoped to meet North Korean leader KimJong Un before welcoming US President Donald Trump to Seoul at theend of June.Sweden is celebrating 60 years of diplomatic ties with South Koreathis year. It has also had an embassy in North Korea since the early1970s and represents US diplomatic interests in Pyongyang. TheScandinavian nation has also contributed observers to thedemilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas.Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven andForeign Minister Margot Wallstrom attended the speech. Moon earlierrode with the king to the Royal Palace in Stockholm in an openhorse-drawn carriage for a formal welcoming ceremony.Sweden is the final stop on Moon's week-long tour of the Nordicregion that included visits in Finland and Norway.