South Korea's senior diplomat will depart for Europe this week to discuss closer cooperation with Sweden, Britain and the European Union, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will arrive in Sweden on the first leg of the week-long trip that will begin on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Lim will hold policy consultations with Swedish Deputy Foreign Minister Annika Soder there on Friday to discuss collaboration on Korean Peninsula issues and other global matters.

On Monday, he will talk to Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field in Britain on trade and security cooperation before a meeting the next day with Secretary General of European External Action Service Helga Schmid, according to the ministry.

South Korea-EU relations and security issues involving the peninsula and the European region will be on the agenda for the meeting between Lim and the EU official, it said.

The trip will be a chance to closely discuss the North Korean policies of the parties and step up South Korea's diplomatic relations with the EU, Sweden and Britain, the ministry said. (Yonhap)