A high-ranking diplomat from Seoul will soon travel to Iran to gain the release of a South Korean national in prison on espionage charges, a government source here said Sunday.

“Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Kyung-soo will visit Iran at the end of this month,” the source said on the condition of anonymity.

“He’s expected to put in efforts to free the South Korean there, which is one of the outstanding bilateral issues between the countries.”

This will be the first visit to Iran by a South Korean deputy foreign minister since 2009. According to the source, Iran accepted South Korea’s request for a visit, and the two countries will hold a high-level policy coordination meeting.

During an annual parliamentary audit into the foreign ministry in October, Rep. Park Byeong-seog of the main opposition Democratic Party revealed that the South Korean, surnamed Kim, had been arrested “in a Middle Eastern country” after taking pictures of police stations and embassy buildings there. Diplomatic sources later said the country in question was Iran.

Kim is said to be in his 40s, and he was detained in October 2012, according to diplomatic sources. He was placed behind bars after receiving a seven-year prison term in September this year and has since appealed his sentence, they added.

At the same parliamentary session last month, Park, the lawmaker, criticized the foreign ministry for failing to protect the people and noted that the ministry only learned of Kim’s imprisonment 75 days after the fact. (Yonhap News)