South Korean President Park Geun-hye received credentials from China’s new ambassador and eight other foreign envoys to Seoul on Friday, her office said.

Amb. Qiu Guohong took office as China’s top envoy to South Korea earlier this month. He replaced Zhang Xinsen, who ended his four-year stint in Seoul in December. Qiu had been known as an expert in Japanese affairs, and it is his first time to serve in South Korea.

Park also received credentials from three other new ambassadors stationed in Seoul: Arslan Hakan Okcal from Turkey, Kulkumut Singhara Na Ayudhaya from Thailand, and Mohamed Abdulla Al-Dehaimi from Qatar.

Five new envoys to cover Korea while stationed either in Japan or China also presented their credentials. They are ambassadors from Moldova, Estonia, Guinea-Bissau, Uganda and Armenia, the presidential office said. (Yonhap)