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| President Moon Jae-in receives a letter of credence from Iranian Ambassador to Seoul Saeed Badamchi Shabestari at Cheong Wa Dae, central Seoul, Dec. 26, 2018. / Joint Press Corps |
By Kim Rahn
The foreign ministry has called in the Iranian ambassador to Korea over his reported remark that Tehran could sever ties with Seoul if Korea sent its naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz.
But the envoy claimed he did not mention "severing ties" and said there had been an error in translation.
According to ministry officials, Saturday, the ministry called in Saeed Badamchi Shabestari the previous day, following his interview with a local newspaper, which reported that he said the deployment of Korean naval forces to the Strait of Hormuz "could have an impact to the level that Iran would consider severing ties (with Korea)."
The remark comes amid the Washington's request for Seoul to participate in the U.S.-led maritime security coalition in the Middle East.
The ministry asked the ambassador if he really mentioned severing ties but Shabestari said he did not directly mention the possibility, claiming it was an error in translation.
"He said that when asked by the media about severing ties in case of Korea's participation in the coalition, he only said the participation could impact relations between the two countries," a ministry official said. "The ambassador said the Iranian embassy would ask the newspaper to correct the report."
Whether Korea should send a naval force has been a controversial issue recently, with military tensions in the region rising after the U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general, and Iran's retaliatory attack on U.S. bases in Iraq. While participation would help solidify the Korea-U.S. alliance, it could also lead to sour ties with Iran and put Korean residents there in danger.
At a National Assembly session on Thursday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said, "Considering a political analysis and bilateral ties with countries in the Middle East, I believe our stance on the issue cannot be the exactly same as that of the U.S."
