Foreign minister to visit Iran Saturday

By Yi Whan-woo

Yun Byung-se

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will visit Iran Saturday for the first time since the signing of a nuclear deal between Tehran and the U.S-led six world powers on July 14, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Yun’s overnight trip will focus on promoting South Korea’s efforts to draw more international support to denuclearize North Korea, officials said.

The nuclear deal makes North Korea the only country under U.N. sanctions for the development of nuclear weapons.

All five countries that signed the deal, except for Germany, are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.

Yun’s scheduled visit also comes amid a growing call from South Korean enterprises to help them launch or expand their businesses in Iran. The July 14 accord curbs Iran’s nuclear ability to peaceful use only in exchange for lifting U.S.-led economic sanctions against the oil-rich nation.

In Tehran, Yun is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and then visit Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two top diplomats will share their thoughts about Seoul-Tehran relations, as well as security issues concerning the Middle East and Northeast Asia.

The two foreign ministers held bilateral talks in September and in 2014 when they attended the annual U.N. General Assembly.

Before returning home, Yun plans to meet South Korean citizens in Iran, including employees of Seoul-based conglomerates.

No South Korean foreign minister has traveled to Iran during their respective terms since August 2001.

A string of foreign ministers around the world visited Iran since the July 14 deal.

They include Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.