Havana, Feb 14 (EFE). – The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday the restoration of diplomatic and consular relations with South Korea, broken since 1959.

In a short press release, the Cuban Foreign Ministry said that relations were reestablished “through an exchange of diplomatic notes between the Permanent Missions of both countries to the United Nations in New York.”

“The establishment of official relations between the two countries was carried out following the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and in conformity with the spirit and norms established in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961,” the ministry said.

Diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba broke in 1959, mainly due to the historical, political, and ideological alliance between the government in Havana and North Korea.

The Asian and Caribbean countries took a step toward normalizing their relations in May 2016, when the chambers of commerce of both nations signed a memorandum of understanding to share business-related information, conduct exchanges between their delegations, and organize joint forums.

In addition to South Korea’s interest in energy matters, the country also sees “Cuba as a potential market for medical and tourism business in the Americas,” according to Seoul’s Ministry of Strategic Planning and Finance. EFE lbp/mcd/ics