South Korea and Iran expected to sign major trade deals
South Korea's president has arrived in Tehran for the first summit between the two countries since 1962.
- Engagement: 36
South Korea's President Park Geun-hye has arrived in Iran with a large group of business leaders for a visit during which the countries are expected to sign several trade deals worth billions of dollars.
Park, along with several ministers, met Iran's President Hassan Rouhani at an official welcoming ceremony in the capital Tehran and held meetings with Iranian officials.
Iran's official state news agency IRNA said that more than 230 business executives accompanied Park.
Al Jazeera's Raza Sayah, reporting from Tehran, said the two leaders had already signed several agreements.
"A number of cooperation deals, trade deals, energy deals have been signed," he said. "And we have been hearing a lot of lofty numbers, upwards of $10bn in agreements, so this is a big day for Iran-South Korea relations."
Sayah said the two leaders were also likely to discuss security issues.
"When you have high-level summits like this, it is very likely that leaders of these two countries will discuss security issues including North Korea," he said. "That of course is a very delicate subject."
Iran and North Korea, the South's main foe, are allies. Tehran and Pyongyang have long been suspected of being close partners in developing weapons technology.
North Korea was handed tougher UN sanctions for its fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year. Iran has denied seeking atomic weapons, insisting its nuclear programme is for purely civilian purposes such as power generation and medical research.
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| Trade between the two countries is currently at $6.1bn, and that Tehran would like to boost that to $17.4bn [EPA] |
Iran has been seeking to integrate into the global financial system and improve ties with other countries since its own nuclear-related sanctions were lifted in January under a landmark deal with world powers.
Energy-hungry South Korea, the world's fifth largest importer of crude oil, used to be one of the biggest buyers of Iranian oil, but imports plummeted as a result of sanctions.
IRNA said trade between the two countries was currently at $6.1bn, and that Tehran would like to boost that to $17.4bn, a level last reached in 2011, before the sanctions were imposed.
"Iran's oil exports to South Korea have more than quadrupled to 400,000 barrels a day since international sanctions were lifted in January," Bijan Zanganeh, the oil minister, was quoted as saying on Sunday by the Shana news agency.
Iran, whose exports to South Korea were less than 100,000 barrels a day before sanctions were lifted, has since worked to quickly boost its output. It has focused on selling to its traditional customers in Asia, but has also shipped cargoes to Europe.
South Korea and Iran established diplomatic ties in 1962 but their heads of states have never had bilateral talks, according to Park's office.
Response: As stated within the article, Iran is partners with North Korea and has been suspected in co-working with them to develop nuclear weapons. A visit from South Korea to strengthen economic ties is a big step forward towards Iran becoming more of a political partner with the West and weakening their dealings with North Korea.
As for the journalist who wrote this article, there did seem to be a small amount of prejudice towards Iran for their ties with North Korea. But otherwise I saw no other evidence of bias, just information stated as absolute fact.
"Aljazeera." 2 May 2016. Aljazeera Media Network. 2 May 2016. <http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/south-korea-iran-expected-sign-major-trade-deals-160502092507286.html>.
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