Deputy Foreign Minister Visits Vienna for Iran Nuclear Talks... Seeking Solutions for Frozen Assets

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Choi Jong-geon, First Vice Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, departed for Vienna, Austria on the 4th to meet with representatives of the participating countries in the restoration negotiations of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vice Minister Choi plans to hold meetings with representatives from Iran and the P5+1 countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany) in Vienna, where the 8th round of JCPOA restoration talks is ongoing from the 4th to the 9th. A ministry official told reporters on the day, "All parties welcomed the proposal for the First Vice Minister's visit," and said that he is scheduled to have bilateral talks with most of the major negotiating parties' representatives.

Through these meetings, the intention is to directly seek solutions on-site for the issue of Iran's frozen funds held in Korea, but it is somewhat unusual for a senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official to visit the negotiation site without direct participation in the talks. The Ministry explained that it will continue diplomatic support for the restoration of the JCPOA, strengthen Korea-US cooperation to maintain the non-proliferation regime, and strive to contribute to the development of Korea-Iran relations.

Although Korea is not a party to the JCPOA restoration negotiations, it has been closely exchanging opinions regarding the restoration discussions due to the frozen funds issue with Iran. Since 2018, when the US government placed the Central Bank of Iran on the sanctions list, funds paid as proceeds from Iranian oil exports have been frozen in Korea. These funds are estimated at about 7 billion USD (approximately 8.3 trillion KRW), known to be the largest among Iran's overseas frozen assets.

Iran and the P5+1 countries have been conducting restoration negotiations since April last year, but there has been no significant progress so far. In particular, Iran does not engage in direct talks with the United States, which unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, but communicates indirectly. They held the 8th round of talks starting on the 27th of last month, took a short break for the New Year, and resumed negotiations on the 3rd of this month. The parties have agreed to conclude the negotiations by February.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.