{"id":2198041,"date":"2022-08-05T19:40:01","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T10:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2198041"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:47","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:47","slug":"israeli-envoy-korea-israel-ties-bright-but-yoon-visit-would-be-transformative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/08\/israeli-envoy-korea-israel-ties-bright-but-yoon-visit-would-be-transformative\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli envoy: Korea-Israel ties bright but Yoon visit would be \u2018transformative\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
The future of relations between South Korea and Israel under Yoon Suk-yeol is bright, but a lot depends on high-level leadership visits, Israel\u2019s Ambassador to the ROK Akiva Tor told <\/span>Korea Pro<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n In a wide-ranging interview \u2014 which covered the recent free trade agreement (FTA), Iranian frozen funds in South Korean banks and the ambassador\u2019s religious work \u2014 Tor said relations were \u201cgood\u201d under the Moon administration but that he expects the Yoon government will take ties even further.<\/span><\/p>\n Historically, Seoul has been wary of strengthening ties with Jerusalem, fearing the reaction of other countries in the Middle East. South Korea has conducted <\/span>numerous construction projects<\/span><\/a> over the decades and receives the majority <\/span>of its oil<\/span><\/a> from the region.<\/span><\/p>\n However, Tor said Seoul understands that there \u201creally is no reason to put a damper on the relationship with Israel.\u201d He pointed to the Sept. 2020 <\/span>Abraham Accords<\/span><\/a>, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as evidence of a changing Middle East.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not some sort of zero-sum game which is going to have a cost in terms of relations with Saudi Arabia or construction contracts in the Arabian Gulf \u2014 they\u2019re not going to be negatively affected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Tor admitted that Israel\u2019s \u201cpolitical crisis\u201d in the run-up to <\/span>upcoming elections<\/span><\/a> could complicate things, but predicted that, international travel permitting, \u201csenior Korean leadership\u201d will visit Israel by early 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it would be amazing if President Yoon visited Israel with a large economic delegation,\u201d Tor said, noting that no South Korean ministers have visited Israel in five years due largely to COVID-19. \u201cIt would be transformative, that will take the relationship to a new level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n