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Did Rouhani call for North Korea to give up nuclear weapons?

South Korean officials have welcomed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s comments about a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons.

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Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and his South Korean counterpart President Park Geun-hye attend a press conference to cover issues of mutual interest, Tehran, May 2, 2016. — MEHR NEWS/Mohammadreza Abbasi

Since the implementation of the nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers in January and the removal of international sanctions, Iran’s old trading partners from Europe and Asia are seeking to re-establish economic ties. The arrival of South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Tehran May 1, the first visit of a South Korean president since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1962, not only held promising prospects for future economic relations, but could possibly have ramifications for each country's relations with North Korea.

An article headlined "Tehran, the bridge of reconciliation between the two Koreas," in Reformist Shargh Daily told about Park's historic May 2 meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. The South Korean delegation reportedly included more than 200 government officials and business leaders. The two countries signed deals and memorandums of understandings in the fields of infrastructure building, energy exploration, banking and technology. Rouhani said that business and economic ties would increase by threefold from the current $6 billion a year to $18 billion.

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