South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will visit Iran this week, as the two countries seek to bolster ties in the wake of Iran’s nuclear deal, the East Asian country’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
Yun’s visit to Tehran on Saturday will be the first by a South Korean foreign minister in 14 years, and comes about four months after Iran struck the landmark deal with P5+1 (the US, Britain, France, Russia, and China, plus Germany) to limit its uranium enrichment program for about a decade in exchange for sanctions relief.
Yun is scheduled to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on a wide range of issues, including progress on the deal’s implementation, bilateral ties and the political situation in their respective regions, the ministry said. Zarif was Iran’s top negotiator who helped reach the historic nuclear accord. The visit, which will include a courtesy call on President Hassan Rouhani, is expected to give further momentum to international efforts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the ministry said, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Yun and Zarif held talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last year and again in September. Seoul has shown renewed interest in business opportunities in the oil-rich nation, as the lifting of international sanctions will allow it to tap into Iran’s energy sector.
