By Lee Kyoung Mi and Lee Hana

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook on June 11 departed for Europe to attend the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) economies and later make state visits to Austria and Spain.

The couple departed from Seoul Airbase in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do Province, to head for their first stop, the U.K.

From June 12-13, the president will attend the G7 summit in Cornwall at the invitation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

President Moon will attend three extended sessions on health, open society and economy, and climate change and the environment. He will share his experiences with the green- and digital-themed Korean New Deal.

On the sidelines of the summit, the president will hold bilateral summits with his British, Australian and European Union counterparts.

The possibility of the chief executive holding bilateral talks with Japan and a trilateral summit with the U.S. and Japan has not been ruled out.

Yonhap News of Korea quoted a Cheong Wa Dae source as saying that while no formal meeting is scheduled, Korea is open to various forms of communication and cooperation.

The president will fly to Austria for a state visit from June 13-15 and for another in Spain from June 15-17.

km137426@korea.kr