Turkey-South Korea relations enter new phase: Envoy

SEOUL

Turkey and South Korea have entered a new phase of diplomatic relations, Ankara’s Ambassador to Seoul said Wednesday.

Arslan Hakan Okcal told Anadolu Agency that 2017 had been designated as the Turkish Culture Year in South Korea. A number of events are being held throughout the country to mark the 60th anniversary in relations with Turkey.

One of the events, Okcal said, will be the screening of the Turkish movie "Ayla" that depicts the story of a 5-year-old orphaned Korean girl found on the battlefield by a Turkish soldier who takes her under his protection.

Turkey nominated the movie for the Best Movie in Foreign Language category in the Oscars.

"South Korea has always been a country that we have very good political, military and cultural relations with," said Okcal.

Both countries desire to further enhance relations, said the envoy, adding that an official visit to South Korea by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planned for the beginning of next year.

"Seoul administration is one of the greatest supporters of Turkey in Syrian refugee crisis," he said.

Okcal added that a number of joint cooperation projects between the two countries had been launched in the defense sector.

Reporting by Tevfik Durul; Writing by Merve Aydogan;