Iran's First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Sunday called on South Korea to unfreeze Iran's assets in its banks as soon as possible, Press TV reported. 

Blocking Iran's foreign exchange assets in South Korea's banks has marred the image of the country among the Iranian people, Jahangiri said at a joint press conference with visiting South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun. 

Unfortunately, South Korea has followed the United States in implementing illegal sanctions against Iran over the past three years, which has depressed the bilateral relations, the senior Iranian official added. 

The measures by South Korea's banks, at the time when Iranians are in need of their resources to fight the coronavirus pandemic, have led to economic and health consequences, as the monetary resources could have been used to buy medical equipment, medicine and other essential goods for the country, he noted. 

For his part, Chung said the two countries have agreed to work on ways to expand mutual relations, and South Korea will increase humanitarian aid to Iran, including medicine and medical equipment. 

Chung's visit to Iran follows the recent release of a South Korean oil tanker, which had been seized by Iran for purportedly polluting the Gulf waters with chemicals.

Iran was a key oil supplier to resource-poor South Korea until Seoul stopped its purchases after a U.S. decision in 2018, under then U.S. President Donald Trump, to unilaterally exit the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose crushing sanctions.

New U.S. President Joe Biden has signaled his readiness to revive the accord and negotiations are underway in Vienna between Iran and the other signatories to the 2015 deal – Germany, China, France, Britain and Russia – to salvage the accord and lift sanctions on the Islamic republic.

(With input from Xinhua and AFP)