By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee

One year and four months after establishing formal diplomatic relations with South Korea, Cuba officially opened its embassy in Seoul on June 10, 2025.

The Cuban Embassy in South Korea held an opening ceremony at its new office in Jung-gu, Seoul. The ceremony was attended by Claudio Raúl Monzon Baeza, Cuban Ambassador to South Korea; Lee Joo-il, Director of the Latin America Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and members of the Latin American diplomatic corps in South Korea. The event included a signboard hanging ceremony and a reception.

In his congratulatory speech, Director Lee welcomed the opening of the Cuban Embassy in Korea and evaluated that the opening of the Cuban Embassy in Korea on this day, following the opening of the Korean Embassy in Cuba in January, marked the successful implementation of follow-up measures to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and Cuba in February last year.

He also expressed his expectation that the Cuban Embassy in South Korea would contribute to the development of relations between the two countries and mentioned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would provide support for the smooth operation of the embassy.

With the establishment of the Cuban diplomatic mission, a foundation has been laid for deepening cooperation between the two countries. In addition, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said that for South Korea, this can be seen as the completion of its diplomatic network with Latin America.

Earlier, South Korea and Cuba agreed to establish ambassador-level diplomatic relations through an exchange of diplomatic notes between their respective missions to the United Nations in New York in February last year.

Cuba is South Korea's 193rd diplomatic partner, and was previously the only country in the Latin American and Caribbean region with which South Korea did not have diplomatic relations.

The government expects that the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba will contribute to the expansion of practical cooperation between the two countries by providing an institutional foundation for expanding economic cooperation and supporting the entry of Korean companies into the Cuban market.