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Norway

King Harald and Queen Sonja to host South Korean state visit in June

On Wednesday morning, the Norwegian Royal Court announced that His Majesty the King had invited the President of South Korea for a state visit. The Korean president has accepted the invitation and will visit Norway in mid-June of this year. The visit marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and is the first Korean state visit to Norway.

On the invitation from Their Majesties King Harald and Queen Sonja, the President of the Republic of Korea, His Excellency Mr Moon Jae-in and First Lady Kim Jung-sook will visit Norway on 12 and 13 June 2019. A varied programme will be held in two cities during the state visit. The visit will begin on 12 June in Oslo. The Republic of Korea is Norway’s second largest trading partner in Asia and is an important partner country for Norwegian business and industry.

King Harald and the President of Poland during an official state visit in May 2016. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen.

An official welcome ceremony will be held in the Palace Square, followed by a ceremony at Akershus Fortress. The royal couple will then accompany the presidential couple to the University of Oslo, where President Moon Jae-in will talk about peace on the Korean peninsula in the university’s forecourt.

Norway’s Foreign Minister, Ine Eriksen Søreide will also host a government’s lunch at Akershus Castle before the presidential couple, in the afternoon, attend a Korean music concert in the Opera. Wednesday closes with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace with King Harald and Queen Sonja as hosts.

His Majesty King Harald and President Jóhannesson inspect the bodyguard during a state visit in 2017. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen.

Thursday, 13 June begins with a meeting and press conference with Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Then, His Majesty will accompany the presidential couple to Bergen. The programme there includes lunch in Håkonshallen, a tour of the Norwegian Defence Forces’ new logistics vessel “KNM Maud” -which was built on a Korean shipyard – and a concert at Troldhaugen.

Royal Central will keep you updated on all the latest regarding the state visit and will follow the ceremonies in Oslo.

About author

Senior Europe Correspondent Oskar Aanmoen has a master in military and political history of the Nordic countries. He has written six books on historical subjects and more than 1.500 articles for Royal Central. He has also interview both Serbian and Norwegian royals. Aanmoen is based in Oslo, Norway.