1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, who is on a visit to New York, the United States, to attend the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, met with Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif on September 27, and exchanged views on the current relations between the Republic of Korea and Iran, and bilateral economic issues regarding the snap-back of US sanctions against Iran.

※ Ministers Kang and Zarif met for the first time, and the ROK-Iran Foreign Ministers’ meeting marked the first since the one between former Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Minister Zarif, held in Tehran, Iran, on November 7, 2015.

2. Minister Kang explained the ROK government’s position of supporting a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue, and said that the ROK side was consulting with the US to minimize the impact of the snap-back of US sanctions against Iran on Korean companies. She also offered to continue consultations between the ROK and Iran to resolve difficulties facing Korean companies in Iran.

3. Minister Zarif offered to continue cooperation between the governments of the two countries to make sure that external factors, including the snap-back of US sanctions against Iran, do not undermine the ROK-Iran economic relations which had continued thanks in part to Korean companies’ active participation in the Iranian market for the past several decades. He also offered to continue consultations between the two countries to do so.

4. Minister Kang explained the ROK government’s efforts to establish a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula, including the third inter-Korean summit held recently in Pyeongyang, and said that she was looking forward to the Iranian side’s support for such efforts. Minister Zarif said that Iran, which was maintaining good relations with both the ROK and North Korea, hoped to see continued progress in inter-Korean relations, and took note of the ROK government’s recent leading efforts.

※ On April 28, the Spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement expressing support for the inter-Korean summit held at Panmunjom on April 27.

* unofficial translation