**Overthrow of the Assad Regime Marks a Turning Point**
It has been confirmed on the 11th that South Korea has decided to establish diplomatic relations with Syria, the last non-diplomatic state among UN member countries, and has recently reached an agreement with the Syrian interim government on this matter. The South Korean government plans to officially process this decision by bringing it up in a cabinet meeting soon.
Following the establishment of diplomatic relations with “North Korea’s brother nation” Cuba last year, South Korea will have formed relations with all 191 UN member states, excluding North Korea. Including three non-member states such as the Vatican, the Cook Islands, and Niue, Syria becomes South Korea’s 194th country with which it has diplomatic ties. A diplomatic source praised this as a “milestone in South Korean diplomatic history.”
Syria was originally a close ally of North Korea. The Assad regime, in the 3rd and 4th Middle East wars in 1967 and 1973, received North Korean fighter pilot support and was also provided with ballistic missile, nuclear development technologies, and chemical weapons. However, after the Assad regime was overthrown by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) following about 13 years of civil war, conditions were set to establish diplomatic relations with South Korea.
Last month, South Korea sent a government delegation led by Kim Eun-jung, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ African and Middle Eastern Affairs Bureau, to explore diplomatic relations with Syria. The delegation met with the transitional government’s Foreign Minister Assaad Al- Shabani in Damascus to discuss bilateral cooperation. It was the first official visit by a South Korean government delegation to Syria in 22 years since 2003.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the delegation confirmed the international community’s trends and Syria’s situation after the Assad regime’s ousting and conveyed a welcoming message from South Korea regarding the establishment of a transitional government. Members of the transitional government, including Foreign Minister Al-Shabani, responded positively and expressed a willingness to establish diplomatic relations while discussing Korean dramas.
After reviewing detailed matters over the past month, the South Korean government has decided to establish diplomatic ties with Syria. Despite the current interim presidential system, there was concern that delaying the diplomatic procedure might allow North Korea to approach the transitional government and conduct interference tactics.
North Korean embassy diplomats in Syria reportedly evacuated with Russia’s assistance after the Assad regime’s fall in December last year and are not currently present there. However, recent reports indicate that Russian diplomats have returned to Syria, suggesting that North Korean officials might also return.
Since joining the UN in 1991, South Korea has attempted to establish diplomatic relations with countries like Syria and Cuba, but these efforts were hindered by North Korean intervention. However, last year’s sudden agreement with Cuba and the recent geopolitical changes have provided an opportunity to normalize diplomatic relations with Syria.
Syria has experienced civil war for over ten years following the impact of the “Arab Spring” in 2011. On December 8th last year, the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) seized Damascus and overthrew the Assad regime. General Ahmed Al-Shara, the current leader of HTS, is serving as the interim president of Syria’s transitional government.