Jahangiri and Chung comment after Tehran talks

Iran's first vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri welcomed South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, the first visit by a premier from Seoul since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The visit comes after Iran on Friday released a South Korean oil tanker held since January amid a dispute with Seoul over billions of dollars of its assets frozen there due to sanctions.

Iran had accused the MT Hankuk Chemi of polluting the waters in the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

But the seizure was widely seen as an attempt to pressure Seoul to release some $7 billion in Iranian assets tied up in South Korean banks amid heavy American sanctions on Iran.

Iran released the 20-member crew in February, but had continued to detain the ship and its captain while demanding that South Korea unlock frozen Iranian assets.