Afghanistan’s deputy foreign minister met with Korean officials in Seoul on Monday to explore ways to expand bilateral ties and Seoul’s reconstruction efforts as NATO’s decade-long mission winds down.

Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin met with Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han to affirm Korea’s commitment of $500 million to bolster Afghan security forces and press Seoul to lift its travel ban to “facilitate Korean investment.”

“I said very specifically that now is the time to facilitate travel by Koreans and Korean companies to Afghanistan and we as governments must do what ever we can to facilitate it,” Ludin said in an interview with The Korea Herald after meeting Foreign Ministry counterparts in Seoul.

“We on our side will do everything we can to secure the lives of Korean nationals when they are visiting Afghanistan. Our hope is that the Korean Foreign Ministry will remove restrictions on travelers.” 

Korean citizens have been prohibited from traveling to Afghanistan since 2007, when the Taliban kidnapped 23 Korean Christian missionaries, two of whom were later executed.

The surviving missionaries were eventually released after days of tense negotiations and still unconfirmed promises of a withdrawal of Korean soldiers from Afghanistan and a cash ransom of $20 million. The Korean government insisted there was no quid pro quo for the release of the hostages.

Korean citizens are also barred from visiting Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Somalia. According to diplomatic sources, MOFAT is to review the travel bans in February.

“People unfortunately have a memory of that dreadful incident that happened in Afghanistan in 2007, but this is a different time now. Many years have passed since then. This is a very different time now,” Ludin said.

NATO is slated to finish combat operations by the end of 2014. Some 65,000 U.S. troops are currently deployed alongside a coalition force of 35,000 and 335,000 local soldiers and police, respectively, that make up the Afghan National Security Forces.

Korea has tasked its contingent of about 350 soldiers and 40 police officers, code-named “Ashena,” with protecting its Provincial Reconstruction Team since the forces were redeployed to the country in 2010.

About 100 aid workers were based in the northern Afghan city of Charikar in Parwan province, just miles north of Kabul and the massive U.S. military base at Bagram. Korea’s PRT provided medical, educational and other services to local communities. Parwan is regarded as the safest province in the country.

Korea officially hands over its base to Afghan local forces in December.

“(Korean Foreign Ministry officials) assured me they are aware of the opportunities in Afghanistan and that it is helpful to facilitate greater travel. I hope my request contributes to that discussion,” Ludin said.

Ludin said as the NATO mission winds down it is now time for Afghanistan to reestablish “normal relations” with partner nations around the world, adding that Korea is an appreciated friend of Afghanistan.

“We are a country that offers opportunities in minerals, energy and agriculture,” he said. “We are also a hub of three huge markets, in South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia.”

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)