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Government delegation departs for negotiations with detained Iranian sailors▶ Click here to enlarge the view
The Korean Embassy in Iran personally confirmed the safety of the Korean sailors detained in Bandar Abbas, a port city in southern Iran.
According to the Foreign Ministry, on the 7th, the embassy on-site support team sent from Tehran, the capital of Iran, met with a member of the Korean crew of the ‘Korea Chemie’ who was detained in Bandar Abbas el yesterday.
The 3-person on-site support team, including the consular officer, confirmed the personal safety of 20 sailors, including 5 Koreans, through interviews. They are known to have traveled about 1,300 km from Tehran to Bandar Abbas for 16 hours by car.
Ambassador Yoo Jeong-hyun to Iran also made a phone call with the crew.
The on-site support team plans to arrange for detainees to make international calls with their families in Korea and to contact Iranian local governments, judicial authorities and port authorities.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Choi Young-sam said in a briefing that “the sailors interviewed had directly stated that ‘there was no behavior (on the Iranian side) that could be problematic, including threatening attitudes such as violence'” . .
Spokesman Choi said: “The government will promptly promote consular interviews with other crew members through negotiations with the Iranian authorities and will make various efforts to lift the detention of the Korean Kemi.”
A government delegation led by Go Gyeong-seok, head of the Office for the African Middle East at the Foreign Ministry, also arrives in Tehran via Doha, Qatar.
The delegation plans to meet with Iranian Foreign Ministry officials and others to focus on negotiations to resolve the Korean ship detention issue. In addition, it is expected to confirm the facts about the violations of environmental regulations alleged by Iran and to support the seafarers if related legal proceedings continue.
However, since Thursday and Friday are public holidays in Iran, it is unclear whether an interview will be scheduled as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Choi Jong-Geon, the first deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will also visit Iran on the 10th on a schedule of 3 days and 2 nights.
During his visit to Iran, Vice Minister Choi is expected to negotiate lifting the detention of the sailors as a top priority and to discuss the issue of Iran’s frozen funds, which the Iranian government has recently complained about.
After visiting Iran, he will move to Qatar and discuss ways to promote bilateral cooperation, such as expanding the expansion of Korean companies with Qatar, and then returning home on the 14th.
Korea-Iran Partnership Interviews with the Iranian Ambassador to Korea▶ Click here to enlarge the view
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