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S Korean PM in Tehran to mend strained ties

Monday, 12 April 2021 10:34 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 12 April 2021 10:34 PM ]

Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran

This is the first time in over four decades that a South Korean prime minister visits Iran.

Chung Sye-Kyun arrived in Tehran on Sunday for a three-day visit. During his trip, Chung held talks with high ranking Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Ali Larijani, who is an advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Chung's visit is viewed as an icebreaker to forge stronger ties between Tehran and Seoul, after years of strained relations.

Now, to start with, Tehran says Seoul should unlock billions of dollars of Iranian assets frozen in its banks.

The figure is roughly 8.5 billion dollars of Iranian revenues made from oil sales to Seoul.

The funds are now blocked in two South Korean banks, for fears of running afoul of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The South Korean premier said his country is determined to solve the issue and would make its utmost efforts to prepare the ground for Iran's access to its assets.

Before the US intensified its sanctions on Iran, South Korea was one of the country’s largest trade partners outside the West Asia and its fourth-largest oil customer.

Following the 2015 nuclear deal, bilateral trade reached $12 billion in 2017.

Yet, these exports tumbled down after the US reinstated anti-Iran sanctions in 2018, dropping to minus 90 million dollars in the first half of 2020.

Chung's historic visit follows the Islamic Republic's release of a South Korean oil tanker and its captain about three months after its seizure over alleged oil pollution.

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