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POLITICS

Sweden’s Foreign Minister calls US-North Korea agreement a ‘victory for diplomacy’

Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström on Tuesday described an agreement signed by the leaders of the US and North Korea as "a victory for diplomacy".

Sweden's Foreign Minister calls US-North Korea agreement a 'victory for diplomacy'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands on Tuesday. Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci/TT

US President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in an historic summit in Singapore, where they signed a document including a pledge from Kim to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.

Some observers have criticized the agreement as vague in its wording, and Wallström said it was important that it lead to “concrete changes”, but described it nonetheless as a “clear victory for diplomacy”.

The Swedish Foreign Minister told reporters she was “optimistic but mildly sceptical” about the agreement, according to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

“It has been an exciting day of interesting results, and now comes the test, which is to implement this agreement and see what it contains in all its details,” the politician told SVT

“It's almost a miracle if you look back a year at how the insults and the war of words looked, and now they're affirming their friendship and respect for each other — so let's see,” she said.

JUST FOR MEMBERS: What exactly is Sweden doing in North Korea?

Wallström also commented on the summit on Twitter, writing: “Welcome US-DPRK agreement. Goal remains DPRK’s complete de-nuclearization and sustainable peace. Now words have to be translated into action. SE ready to support.”

Sweden has a long-standing relationship with North Korea, where it was the first Western country to open an embassy in the 1970s. The embassy today represents US, Canadian, and Australian diplomatic interests in the country.

Sweden is also one of the world's biggest givers of humanitarian aid to North Korea, and there are even Swedish soldiers at the Korean border as part of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission.

In May, Wallström met North Korea's Minister for Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-Ho in Stockholm, a development that at the time sparked discussion of whether the US-North Korea summit could take place in the Scandinavian nation.

READ ALSO: North Korea owes Sweden millions for Volvos from the 1970s

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POLITICS

Full steam ahead for Swedish economy in new three-part budget bill

Sweden has won the fight against inflation and expects GDP to grow next year, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson proudly proclaimed as she presented the government's budget bill for 2025.

Full steam ahead for Swedish economy in new three-part budget bill

“Going forward, the task will be to ensure that high inflation does not return, and at the same time to implement reforms and investments that build a more prosperous, safer and more secure Sweden for generations to come,” said Svantesson in a statement on Thursday morning.

The government predicts that Swedish GDP will grow 2.5 percent next year followed by 3.2 percent 2026.

Unemployment, however, is expected to remain unchanged at 8.3 percent in 2025, only beginning to drop in 2026 (7.9 percent, according to the government’s predictions, followed by 7.6 percent in 2027).

Svantesson told a press conference that a strong focus on economic growth would create jobs.

The 2025 budget, worked out in collaboration between the right-wing government coalition and far-right Sweden Democrats, is far more expansionary than the restrained budget Svantesson presented last year when Sweden was still fighting high inflation: 60 billion kronor towards new reforms rather than 39 billion kronor for 2024. Almost half, 27 billion kronor, will go towards funding lower taxes.

ANALYSIS:

Svantesson highlighted three areas in which new reforms are prioritised:

  • Strengthening household purchasing power after several years of the high cost of living putting a strain on household budgets, with reforms set to push the tax burden to its lowest level since 1980, according to the government.
  • Reinstating the “work first” principle, meaning that people should work rather than live on benefits. Some of the measures include language training for parents born abroad and increasing the number of places in vocational adult education.
  • Increasing growth, focusing on investments in research, infrastructure and electricity supply.

In the debate in parliament on Thursday, the centre-left opposition is expected to criticise the government for lowering taxes for high earners and not investing enough in welfare. 

Investments in healthcare, social care and education are significantly reduced in this budget compared to last year: down from 16 billion kronor to 7.5 billion kronor. 

Meanwhile, the hike of the employment tax credit (jobbskatteavdraget) – a tax reduction given to people who pay tax on their job income – is expected to lead to a 3,671 kronor tax cut for people on the median salary of 462,000 kronor per year.

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