President Park Geun-hye met Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei on May 2 and discussed how to develop the partnership between Korea and Iran.

The president and the Iranian leader met at the supreme leader's office in Tehran in the afternoon and held a 30-minute talk. "Terrorism and regional insecurity will be more difficult to deal with in the future, which is why those issues should be dealt with now," the Iranian leader said. He hoped that Korea and Iran could "collaborate on the region's peace and security." Ayatollah Khamenei praised the Korean president's first state visit to his country 54 years after the two nations agreed to establish diplomatic ties, while expressing his thanks for her visit that was accompanied by a Korean business delegation.

President Park said that she hopes the two countries will be able to keep working on mutually beneficial collaboration across a wide range of areas, and build a bridge between the two peoples through an expanded network of cultural opportunities. She also mentioned Korea's economic development policies from the 1970s and 1980s. "The Saemaul Undong, or New Community Movement, has been globally accepted as a successful set of agricultural development policies and such policies would be able to assist Iran with its development potential," the president said.

The supreme leader said that he hopes Iran would be able to learn science and technology from Korea, and in response the Korean president suggested further partnerships in those fields, assuring him of Korea's confidence and possible contributions.

"Korea and Iran have more than one thousand years of trading and exchange. We share the historical experience of dealing with difficulties and overcoming them. We share an Asian culture that values the family and respect for elders," said President Park Geun-hye, mentioning the success in Iran of Korean period drama series. "The Korean period dramas 'Jumong' and 'Jewel in the Palace' were successful in Iran, I believe, thanks to those shared social characteristics and values," the president said.

By Wi Tack-whan, Chang Iou-chung
Korea.net Staff Writers
Photo: Cheong Wa Dae
whan23@korea.kr