Seoul, April 10 – The foreign ministry appointed former Ambassador to Kuwait, Chung Byung-ha, as its special envoy to Iran on Friday, and will soon send him to Tehran to coordinate the safe passage of South Korean vessels and nationals amid the Middle East conflict, officials said.
The ministry announced Chung's appointment, currently the ambassador for polar affairs, a day after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held phone talks with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi.
During the talks, Cho announced the decision to dispatch a special envoy to Iran to discuss the situation in the Middle East and bilateral issues between South Korea and Iran, Yonhap news agency reported.
A total of 26 South Korea-related vessels remain stranded in the Strait of Hormuz under the control of Iran, which has said it will offer safe passage in coordination with its armed forces, but is warning of attacks on ships attempting to pass without permission.
"With the dispatch (of the special envoy), the foreign ministry plans to share views on the Middle East situation and discuss passage not only for our nationals, vessels and crews, but for all ships," the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the situation in the Middle East is escalating rapidly. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved direct talks with Lebanon aimed at disarming Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, a move seen as potentially reinforcing ceasefire efforts.
Netanyahu earlier said that no formal ceasefire agreement exists between Israel and Lebanon.
The US and Iran are expected to begin negotiations over the weekend to formalize the ceasefire terms. US President Donald Trump said overnight that he is optimistic about reaching a deal, while warning Tehran against interfering with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.