The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has been in consulations with allies about unblocking Iranian assets sitting in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions. (Photo: Yonhap News)
South Korea will release Iranian assets it has frozen due to sanctions after consultations with the United States.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the move Tuesday, a day after the Iranian government claimed the two sides agreed on the amount of money and destinations for the transfer.
Tehran has been pressuring Seoul to release some 7 billion dollars of its assets locked in two Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.
Seoul has been in talks with Washington on ways to release the money without violating the sanctions, including expanding humanitarian trade with the Middle Eastern country.
In order to facilitate the trade, the South Korean government has been seeking to use a Swiss channel backed by the U.S. to use the money through Swiss companies' sales of goods to Iran, according to Yonhap News.
Both Seoul and Tehran have denied speculation that the matter is related to Iran's seizure last month of a Korean oil tanker and its crew members in the Persian Gulf.
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