Foreign ministry dampens Yoon Suk Yeol's comments on Iran being enemy of UAE

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday made it clear that President Yoon Suk Yeol's comments on Iran being the United Arab Emirates' enemy were words of encouragement for the Korean service members carrying out their missions in the UAE.

President Yoon Suk Yeol meets with troops of the Akh unit in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 15. [Yonhap]

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday made it clear that President Yoon Suk Yeol's comments on Iran being the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) enemy were words of encouragement for the Korean service members carrying out their missions in the UAE.

"We hope there is no overinterpretation of his comments," added the Foreign Ministry

Yoon visited the Akh Unit deployed to the UAE on Sunday and commented that South Korea and the UAE are in a very similar situation as North Korea and Iran, respectively, are enemies.

"The security of the UAE, our brother nation, is the security of ours," said Yoon during his speech.

The Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday that it is looking into the Korean president's recent comments on the relationship between Iran and its neighbors and allies according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's state media.

Nasser Kanaai, the spokesperson for the ministry, said that such comments demonstrate the inability to perceive the historic and friendly ties between Iran and Persian Gulf's coastal nations including the UAE, and how their relationship is developing positively at a great speed recently.

BY KIM EUN-BIN [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]