South Korea has established formal diplomatic relations with North Macedonia.

The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said on Thursday that Ambassador to the United Nations Cho Tae-yul signed a joint communique with Sanja Zografska Krsteska, North Macedonia's charge d'affaires at the UN on Thursday. 

A ministry official said that with diplomatic relations formally established, South Korea expects to see increased bilateral exchanges with North Macedonia both at the governmental and private levels, as well as an increase in cooperation in the broader Balkan region. 

Following the communique, South Korea has formal diplomatic links to all but three of the 193 UN member states: Syria, Kosovo and Cuba.