The South Korean government confirmed on June 13 that they have decided to dispatch four people to the new South Korean embassy in Cuba to increase the diplomatic corps. The two countries are accelerating the opening of permanent diplomatic missions. South Korea established diplomatic relations abruptly in February.
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently announced that it would increase the number of people needed to establish a permanent diplomatic mission in Cuba by four by June 17. The amendment states, “To strengthen diplomacy in Central and South America while establishing the Republic of Korea’s overseas diplomatic mission in the Republic of Cuba, the number of government staff will increase to 4.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to increase the number of overseas diplomatic corps from 1,491 to 1,495.
As a result, the total number of Ministry of Foreign Affairs staff will increase to 2,542. As of the end of May, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had a staff of 2,538, with 940 at the headquarters, 107 at the National Diplomatic Academy, and 1,491 overseas diplomatic corps. Such as the plan to increase the number of government staff by four, it has been reported that a specific plan will be prepared later. Including the ambassador from the headquarters, four staff will likely be assigned to the South Korean embassy in Cuba, and then the vacancies will be filled through recruitment.
South Korea and Cuba started establishing permanent diplomatic missions immediately after establishing diplomatic relations in February.
In May, Mario Alzugaray Rodriguez, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Cuba in China, visited South Korea to negotiate the opening of the Cuban embassy in South Korea. Counselor Alzugaray is currently doing tasks such as selecting the embassy residence site. Cuba plans to notify South Korea, the host country, of the relevant facts after the procedure for determining the embassy residence site is completed at an appropriate time.
South Korea is currently pushing to establish a temporary office as a preliminary step to develop the South Korean embassy in Havana, the capital of Cuba. The temporary office is planned to be installed within June, and the official in charge of our side’s diplomatic mission establishment is expected to arrive in Havana this week.
The two countries recently held their first face-to-face consultations between diplomatic authorities.
On June 12, Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Chung Byung Won and Director General of the Bilateral Bureau of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs Carlos Pereira held bilateral consultations. During their meeting, they discussed various topics, including establishing permanent diplomatic missions, substantive cooperation, regional situations, and collaboration on the international stage.