Foreign minister Cho Tae-yul on Tuesday invited the heads of diplomatic missions of 17 Latin American countries to the foreign ministry and discussed ways to expand cooperation. 

According to the foreign ministry, Cho said Latin America has always been a close friend that has demonstrated true friendship and solidarity with South Korea. He also stated that South Korea and Latin American countries have recently been boosting exchanges and cooperation in areas such as defense, space and electric and hydrogen cars. 

In particular, Cho said South Korea’s diplomatic network with Latin America was completed in February with the establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba, the only Latin American country with which South Korea had no diplomatic relations. 

He then expressed anticipation about this year’s G20 summit which will be held in Brazil and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit which will be held in Peru.