Deputy foreign minister for political affairs Chung Byung-won held a bilateral meeting with a Cuban government official who is visiting the country to attend other diplomatic events.

Prior to Wednesday's meeting, Carlos Pereira, director-general of the Cuban foreign ministry's general division of bilateral affairs, told local reporters that it will be the first official meeting between the two countries since they forged diplomatic ties in February.

Asked whether the two sides will discuss issues on North Korea, Cuba's Cold War-era ally, Pereira responded with a smile, saying he plans to focus on issues pertaining to South Korea.

The official, who earlier said the establishment of a Cuban diplomatic mission in the South could be completed in little as a month in an apparent show of Havana's will to accelerate the construction, expressed hopes for it to be built "as soon as possible."

Pereira led a Cuban government delegation to South Korea for the first time since the two nations forged diplomatic ties, to attend this week's 2024 Korea-Latin America and the Caribbean Future Cooperation Forum and other events.