Cuba and South Korea plan to open embassies "as soon as possible."

High-level diplomats from South Korea and Cuba took a significant step in their bilateral relations following a meeting held this Wednesday in Seoul.

The meeting marks the first time that both countries have engaged in dialogue since they reestablished their diplomatic relations in early 2024.

South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won received Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández, Director General for Bilateral Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba in Seoul.

During the meeting, they discussed the opening of diplomatic missions in their respective countries, which they consider a "significant milestone."

They agreed to establish embassies as soon as possible, indicating that these will serve as a basis to strengthen the ties between the nations.

Chung announced that South Korea plans to open a provisional office in Havana during the first half of the year. A group of South Korean officials will visit the Cuban capital this week.

Pereira detailed that Cuban officials are already working to inaugurate the Cuban embassy in South Korea. The diplomatic headquarters could be open in July.

The Cuban General Director of Bilateral Affairs is in Seoul leading a delegation participating in the regional forum on cooperation between South Korea and Latin American and Caribbean countries.

This participation is historic. Pereira is the first high-ranking diplomat from the island to visit Seoul since the official reestablishment of diplomatic relations in February, after more than six decades of rupture.

In 2018, Miguel Díaz-Canel visited North Korea and held talks with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, adding an interesting context to this new stage of diplomatic relations with South Korea.

The local press has highlighted the importance of these developments, emphasizing that Cuba has been a traditional ally of North Korea since 1960.

This new diplomatic relationship with South Korea is expected to have a significant impact in the region and in the international relations of both countries.