South Korea has become a formal partner with the United States under a multilateral treaty aimed at the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained children, the U.S. government said Friday.

The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction entered into force that day between the two nations, according to the State Department.

The U.S. now has 72 partners under the treaty, also known as Hague Child Abduction Convention.

It is the primary civil law mechanism for parents seeking the return of children who have been abducted from or wrongfully retained outside their country of habitual residence by another parent or family member, the department said.

"Parents seeking access to children residing in treaty partner countries may also invoke the Convention," it said in a press release. "The Convention is critically important because it establishes an internationally recognized legal framework to resolve parental abduction cases."

South Korea acceded to the convention in December. The convention took effect March 1.

The State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is the central authority for the U.S. under the convention, said it welcomes the partnership with South Korea and looks forward to working together on this important issue.(Yonhap News)