“What we can draw from the Iranian experience is that the P5+1 can work effectively together to exert pressure. If the economic sanctions are consistently and effectively enforced, they can raise the cost of an illegal behavior to an undesirable degree,” Hammond said during the interview at the Gloster Hill Memorial Park near the town of Solmari in Paju City, north of Seoul.

He was referring to the six world powers that engaged in the tough nuclear negotiations with the Islamic Republic: the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany.

“The deal with Iran makes dealing with North Korea a bit easier, because until this point, Iran and North Korea were partners in some activities both subject to international sanctions. Now Pyongyang is more isolated and the opportunities to do trade with Iran will be further reduced as the country will reenter the international markets,” he added.

Hammond arrived in Seoul on Monday for a two-day itinerary that included a ministerial strategic dialogue with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se. The two ministers discussed a wide range of peninsular, regional and global issues including North Korean threats, climate change, humanitarian aid, terrorism and cybersecurity.

After months of intense negotiations, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany reached a historic deal last month to terminate Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for a lifting of sanctions.

The minister also underscored that the situations regarding Iran and North Korea were “not completely analogous.” The Tehran regime is a legitimate government and the deal focused strictly on the nuclear program, whereas Pyongyang has vehemently denied any commitment to denuclearize and regarded nuclear armament as essential for survival.

“Nonetheless, the fact that the six major world powers were able to sit around the table for many, many weeks, pursuing what, at certain stages, looked like an impossible goal of reaching an agreement with Iran, and eventually doing so, has strengthened our resolve to work together,” Hammond stressed.

“We all agreed that the P5+1 is an effective format that we would seek to use again when there is an alignment. I hope the lessons from the Iran deal might, in due course, be useful in finding a resolution for the disputes with North Korea,” he added.

Regarding Britain’s strategic interest on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, Hammond said the U.K. remained crucially interested in the region’s peace and stability, as it aimed to further engage Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

In this light, North Korea’s military provocations and its attempt to build long-range ballistic missiles pose a threat to not only the region, but the whole world, he underscored. 

Hammond also met President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday after visiting the memorial park where he paid tribute to the British soldiers who fought and died during the Korean War (1950-53).

“This is my first official visit to Korea, and I had very little picture in my mind of what I was expecting. I got an evocative feeling looking at the immense scale and intensity of military activities in the demilitarized zone on the back of a beautiful landscape,” Hammond told reporters at the park.

“The DMZ is one of the world’s last continuing military frontlines -– a frontier with a country with whom we have literally no communication or understanding, but just confrontation.”

Hammond said he tried to imagine what the battle must have been like on April 21, 1951, when Britain’s First Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment fought off three Divisions of the 63rd Chinese Communist Army for three days.

Later known as the Imjin Battery, the fighting is regarded as the bloodiest combat sustained by the British since World War II. One hundred and forty-one British soldiers were killed in action and dozens more died in captivity in delaying the Chinese advance, which allowed the United Nations Forces to form a new defensive line and protect Seoul.

The United Kingdom provided the second-largest contingent of foreign troops to the Korean War (1950-53) as part of the 16-nation United Nations Forces. A total of 1,109 British troops were killed and 2,674 were wounded during the war. Two Victoria Crosses -- the highest military decoration for valor across the Commonwealth -- were awarded to Gloucester soldiers following the Battle of Imjin River.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)