South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Wednesday he met in Seoul with Adut Salva Kiir Mayardit, a presidential special envoy of South Sudan and the daughter of President Salva Kiir, as the two countries look to expand cooperation.
Cho said in a post on X that Adut Salva Kiir Mayardit has served as the special envoy since August 2025. He described the meeting as a continuation of high-level exchanges between the two countries, following his talks with South Sudan’s foreign minister on the sidelines of the 2026 Korea-Africa Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in June.
Cho said the two sides discussed ways to broaden practical bilateral cooperation, including on the international stage, and exchanged views on the situation in South Sudan. He did not provide further details.
Cho pointed to longstanding ties between the countries. South Koreans know South Sudan through the work of Father John Lee Tae-seok, a Catholic priest who worked as a missionary and doctor there, he said. South Korea was also among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with South Sudan after it gained independence in 2011, he added.
Cho also cited contributions by South Korea’s Hanbit Unit, an engineering contingent that served with the U.N. peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, to peacebuilding and reconstruction.
“I look forward to continuing our close cooperation to promote peace, stability and sustainable development in South Sudan,” Cho said.
Kiir has led South Sudan since it became independent from Sudan in 2011.
