South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin addresses the 28th ministerial council meeting and ninth summit meeting of the Association of Caribbean States in Antigua, Guatemala, on May 11, 2023, in this file photo released by the South Korean ministry.
SEOUL, June 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and Cuba have recently held high-level consultations to discuss the strengthening of exchanges despite their lack of formal diplomatic ties, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry Tuesday.
The meeting between Foreign Minister Park Jin and Cuba’s deputy foreign minister was held last month on the occasion of Park’svisit to the 28th ministerial council meeting of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) in Antigua, Guatemala, Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the ministry, told a regular press briefing.
Lim did not identify the Cuban official, but according to diplomatic sources, Park’s meeting was with Josefina Vidal, one of the five deputy foreign ministers of the Latin American country.
According to Lim, the two sides “exchanged views on mutual interests, including cooperation at the ACS level.”
In response to news reports that the two countries were mulling over establishing bilateral talks on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly, Lim said, “Nothing has been fixed.”
Cuba is the only Latin American nation with which South Korea has no diplomatic relations.
The previously unannounced meeting marked the two countries’ first high-level consultations since the previous one in May 2018 between then Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her counterpart, Bruno Rodriguez.
Although it lacks formal ties, South Korea is continuing behind-the-scenes efforts to engage with the Latin American country and establish relations.
Seoul provided US$200,000 worth of humanitarian assistance to Cuba when the nation suffered massive damage from a fuel tank explosion last August.
Despite the government’s efforts, Cuba reportedly remains passive in seeking formal ties with South Korea due to the Latin America country’s connections with North Korea.
North Korea and Cuba have maintained close relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1960.
(Yonhap)
