South Korea and Russia have held consular consultations for the first time in seven years. 

According to Seoul’s foreign ministry on Wednesday, Yun Joo-seok, chief of the ministry’s Consular Affairs and Safety Bureau, held talks the same day in Moscow with Alexey Klimov, head of the consular department at the Russian foreign ministry.

During the 18th South Korea-Russia Consular Consultation, the two sides discussed various issues, including how to enhance convenience for South Koreans entering, staying in and leaving Russia, as well as measures to protect South Korean nationals in the country.

The two sides agreed on the importance of consular cooperation to protect their respective citizens in each other’s countries and enhance convenience for them. 

They also shared the view that the meeting served as a valuable opportunity for in-depth discussions on strengthening bilateral consular cooperation.

The previous such meeting took place in November 2018 in Moscow.