Vice Minister Cho Hyun-dong Discusses Iran Nuclear Deal Negotiation Trends with US Iran Special Envoy

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On the 7th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Cho Hyun-dong, First Vice Foreign Minister, discussed recent developments in the restoration negotiations of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) during a phone call with Robert Malley, the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran.

Cho Hyun-dong, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, is speaking at a meeting with the People Power Party's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries civil servant shooting incident investigation team, who visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 29th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

During the call held the previous evening, Vice Minister Cho and Special Envoy Malley shared the U.S. position regarding the indirect JCPOA restoration negotiations conducted between the U.S. and Iran in Doha, Qatar.

Vice Minister Cho had also held a phone consultation with Special Envoy Malley last month.

Iran and the U.S., with the European Union (EU) as mediator, conducted indirect negotiations in Doha at the end of last month to restore the nuclear deal, but the talks concluded without significant progress.

Vice Minister Cho emphasized that the restoration of the Iran nuclear deal is crucial not only for resolving pending issues between Korea and Iran but also aligns with the interests of the international community, reaffirming Korea’s support for this.

The Korea-Iran issues mentioned by Vice Minister Cho refer to Iran’s frozen won funds in Korea, which amount to approximately 7 billion dollars, known to be the largest portion of Iran’s frozen overseas assets.

Special Envoy Malley expressed gratitude for the cooperation and role of the Korean government, and both sides agreed to continue efforts to resolve the pending issues, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.