South Korea and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to begin consultations for the launch of a diplomatic mission here as the two sides explore ways to crank up political, economic and cultural exchanges, the Palestinian foreign minister said Friday.

Though Seoul is yet to recognize the state of Palestine and maintains close ties with Israel its longtime foe across the border, Riad Malki was upbeat about relations with South Korea, raising hopes for a boost especially in economic and development cooperation.

“I’m hoping to complete the process and set up the mission as soon as possible, whether it be a representative office or embassy, which will help improve the two countries’ relations,” Malki said at a news conference in Seoul. 

The 60-year-old former university professor arrived in Seoul on Thursday and held talks with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se on Friday. During his five-day stay, he was scheduled to meet with high-level officials and senior lawmakers and visit the truce border village of Panmunjeom.

Despite its reluctance to endorse the “two-state” solution, South Korea has been expanding aid and stepping up efforts to enhance ties with Palestine.

While Yun traveled to Ramallah in December, South Korea launched a permanent mission there in August after nearly seven years of running a representative office without a full-time diplomat. Seoul largely supports the plan for a Palestinian mission here, but Palestine’s request for financial assistance for its operation remains a challenge, a ministry official said, calling it unprecedented.

With its conflict with Israel remaining deadlocked, Malki said Palestine is “ready” to resume negotiations but stressed that Jerusalem must “completely stop” its construction of settlements in the West Bank and clearly set the deadline for an end to Israel’s occupation.

He also lambasted a move in U.S. Congress to cut off assistance to Palestine as it spurs its bid to join the International Criminal Court, aimed partly at bringing Israel to justice for the massive attack in the Gaza Strip since June 2013.

“We should be making preparations for a restart of negotiations, rather than sitting idle, waiting for Israel’s general election to end until March,” Malki said, calling for the international community to share wisdom and “not to repeat past failures.”

“U.S. Congress’ threats of slashing aid by half due to our ICC membership is gravely wrong; only the U.S. and Israel criticized our efforts to align our law with international law while the entire international community welcomed it.”

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)