S Korea-Iranian ambassador
S. Korean ministry calls in Iranian envoy to explain Yoon's controversial remarks during UAE visit
By Chang Dong-woo
SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry on Thursday called in Iran's ambassador to Seoul to explain President Yoon Suk Yeol's recent public remarks describing Iran as the "enemy" of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Yoon likened UAE-Iran relations to those of South and North Korea during a meeting with South Korean troops stationed in the UAE earlier this week. Seoul's foreign ministry has stressed his comments were "irrelevant" to Seoul's relations with Iran and urged against "unnecessary overinterpretation."
South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong called in Saeed Badamchi Shabestari, the Iranian ambassador to Seoul, and "explained again Seoul's position," the ministry's spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said during a regular press briefing.
The move came as the Iranian foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned the South Korean ambassador to Tehran in connection with the matter.
The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Seoul, meanwhile, said it has been in "communication" with the ministry and "this diplomatic communication will continue in future."
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