Foreign Minister opens new Russian embassy premises in South Korea

Igor Ivanov, Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, is paying an official visit to South Korea. Today, he was active in a gala opening of new Russian ambassadorial premises in Seoul's centre, and described the event as epoch-making.

The gala, and an upcoming Kremlin reception of South Korea's Friendship Train 2002 passengers are destined to promote a stride in bilateral relations as manifesting both nations' desire to step up lasting friendly partnership, said the minister.

Russian links with South Korea are deeply rooted in history, as the host country's leaders stressed on repeated occasions during current negotiations in Seoul, pointed out Mr. Ivanov. Peace and stability in the Korean peninsula are among Russia's principal foreign political goals, he emphatically added.

Russia is actively working for equal and mutually beneficial bilateral partnership. It wants to see the Korean peninsula a land of peace, cooperation and mutual understanding, and will do what it can to promote that goal, said Igor Ivanov.

The Russian Embassy is opening its new premises at a time when bilateral relations are making dynamic progress, and both countries ought to further step them up, said Ch'oe Song-hong, the host country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who also attended the ambassadorial gala.