South Korea clarifies its president’s statements about Iran unrelated to relations between the two countries

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry has made clear that Korean President Yun Seok-yul’s statements about Iran are unrelated to relations between Seoul and Tehran, and hoped the statement would not be misinterpreted.

“President Yoon’s statement is part of a word of encouragement for Korean soldiers in the United Arab Emirates.”

Seoul stressed its consistent position on the development of relations with Tehran and pointed out that the “brother” unit in the UAE is a non-combat military unit whose functions are limited to training Emirati soldiers and protecting the Korean community in the country in emergency situations, Yonhap said.

“The most threatening enemy of the UAE is Iran, our enemy is North Korea and our position is very similar.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani, said Tehran was “investigating and following up” on the Korean president’s statements, which he called “interference” in relations between his country and the United Arab Emirates.

Kanani added that the Korean President’s remarks indicated a “complete lack of knowledge of historical and friendly relations” between Iran and the GCC countries.

The South Korean president arrived in the UAE on January 14 and was received by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.