South Korea has agreed to open a travel bubble in phases with Palau, an island country in the western Pacific, to exempt fully vaccinated people from mandatory quarantine upon entry.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong reached the agreement on Tuesday in a virtual meeting with Palau's Minister of State Gustav Aitaro and Minister of Human Resources, Culture, Tourism and Development Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl.

The ministers agreed to enforce the travel bubble program in phases to reinvigorate personnel exchanges between the two nations. To that end, health authorities plan to hold discussions on details. 

A "travel bubble" refers to an arrangement between countries for fully vaccinated travelers to enter each other’s borders without the need for strict quarantine. 

South Korea currently has such agreements with Saipan and Singapore.