Ex-Kuwait Ambassador Chung Byung-ha named special envoy to Iran

Chung Byung-ha, ambassador for polar affairs, who was named a special envoy of the foreign minister to Iran / Courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Friday it named Chung Byung-ha, former ambassador to Kuwait, as a special envoy of the foreign minister to Iran.

Chung, who is currently the ambassador for polar affairs, will arrive in Iran this weekend to discuss the situation in the Middle East and Korean ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, amid a tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

“Through the dispatch, the foreign ministry will exchange views on the situation in the Middle East and discuss the safety of Korean nationals in Iran and those on the ships, as well as the passage of the ships,” the ministry said in a press release.

The decision to send an envoy happened Thursday during a phone call between Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi.

The two foreign ministers’ call happened as the situation in the region remains unclear, even after the U.S., Israel and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire agreement the previous day. A total of 26 ships related to Korean businesses have been stranded in the strait as Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade route for oil and natural gas.

Chung has been serving as a career diplomat since 1993 and is known for his expertise on the United Nations and the Middle East, having held various posts including minister-counsellor at the Korean Permanent Mission to the U.N. in New York and director of the foreign ministry’s Middle East Division.