▲ Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (R) poses with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during their meeting on the margins of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 25, 2025, in this file photo provided by South Korea's foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

FM-Iran talks

FM Cho expected to hold phone talks with Iranian counterpart following U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal

By Kim Seung-yeon

SEOUL, April 9 (Yonhap) -- Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is expected to speak by phone with his Iranian counterpart later Thursday, officials said, with stranded South Korea-related vessels in the Strait of Hormuz likely to top the agenda following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire.

It will be Cho's second phone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in just over two weeks, and comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of the two-week cease fire agreed with Tehran.

Seoul has been weighing measures that will best address the 26 ships stranded in the shipping lane effectively blocked by Iran, including ways to secure their passage through the waterway.

"Given the significant development of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, the two sides (Korea and Iran) are expected to exchange views on how the situation in the Strait of Hormuz may evolve going forward," a ministry official told reporters.

Asked if the ministers will discuss allowing the transit of the stranded ships, the official said the priority is to identify the conditions Iran has put forward with regards to the passage.

"We will need to clarify the specific criteria or conditions Iran has in mind for passage through the Strait of Hormuz," he said. "Whether any conditions actually exist, or whether the U.S. and Iran have agreed to allow transit without conditions. That will need to be confirmed before we can decide on measures regarding the vessels."

In a statement released by Araghchi earlier, safe passage through the strait will be possible for the two-week period through "coordination" with Iran's military and with "due consideration of technical limitations," if attacks against Tehran are stopped.

"We are consulting with shipping firms and communicating with relevant countries on measures for the passage of South Korean vessels, taking into account both that the ceasefire has created conditions for resuming the transit and that the situation still remains fluid," Park Il, ministry spokesperson, said in a press briefing.

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