The United Nations mission building in New York./Newsis
On the 7th (local time), before the Lunar New Year holiday, Ambassador Hwang Joon-guk of the Korean Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York received a phone call. Gerardo Penalver Portal was the Cuban ambassador. He said, “I’ll definitely see you tomorrow.” Ambassador Hwang, who intuitively felt this was an “important issue” throughout his long diplomatic career, said, “I like it.” On the 8th, three people, including Ambassador Hwang and two others, attended the Korean mission to the United Nations, and two people, including the ambassador, were from Cuba. In a meeting where they sat face to face to face a total of five people, Ambassador Portal said: “Let us establish diplomatic relations between Cuba and Korea.” Trade between the two countries, interrupted in 1959, continued in this way.
According to this newspaper’s article on the 15th, diplomatic relations between Korea and Cuba were urgently established within a week. First, both sides agreed to establish diplomatic relations as quickly as possible to prevent this information from leaking out. as soon as it’s talked about. This is because it was obvious that North Korea would not remain silent if this information became known. Since both sides were experts in diplomacy, there was reportedly no conversation that could be interpreted as a threat that “we will not establish diplomatic relations if the matter becomes known to the outside world.”
While coordinating the date, Cuba said, “How about the 14th?” When Ambassador Hwang asked, “Is there a special reason?”, the Cuban ambassador smiled and said, “Since the 14th is Valentine’s Day, wouldn’t it mean that it symbolizes love and friendship between our two countries?” The Korean government also agreed because it was in the same position.
Ambassador Hwang Jun-guk, in charge of establishing diplomatic relations between Korea and Cuba in New York. /yunhap news
The United Nations mission immediately informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Korea of the matter. Even within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only a few people shared this information. It was reported in detail to President Yoon Seok-yeol. From then on it was a race against time. No matter how many preparations were made to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, dedicating time to this work was a completely different task. Plus, the Lunar New Year holiday was just around the corner. “It is a matter of national importance. “It’s natural to give it back.” Ambassador Hwang prepared to establish diplomatic relations by primarily using the ambassador’s residence near Central Park in New York with a very limited number of representatives.
At 8 am on the 14th, as promised, the two sides met somewhere in New York. The two countries also agreed on the order of exchanging diplomatic notes and how to inform the media. The process went like this: Cuba first gave the blanks to Korea, and then Korea gave them to Cuba. At 8:05, as promised, the Korean mission sent a press release to correspondents in New York. Cuba announced this on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Although the exchange was brief, it reflected the government’s decades-long efforts to establish diplomatic relations.
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