The fall of the Assad regime in Syria on December 8, 2024, sent geopolitical shockwaves across Asia, creating an opening for South Korea to engage Syria’s new caretaker government and replace North Korea, one of Bashar al-Assad’s longstanding allies, as a major Syrian ally.
For decades, Damascus and Pyongyang maintained deep political and defense ties, forged in mutual isolation under international sanctions. Assad’s collapse has disrupted that alliance, offering Seoul a chance to further isolate North Korea by engaging directly with the post-Assad Syrian state. For South Korea, the normalization of relations with Syria opens a new chapter for bilateral cooperation – and strips North Korea of a rare diplomatic ally.
Ending the Syria-North Korea Axis
For decades, Syria and North Korea maintained a “blood alliance” shaped by shared international isolation and military cooperation. The alliance began during the Arab-Israeli wars and intensified under Assad following the 2011 Syrian civil war. Pyongyang supplied the regime with conventional weapons, ballistic missile technology, and, allegedly, assistance in nuclear and chemical weapons development. Throughout the Syrian civil war, Pyongyang supported Assad with military advisers, illicit arms shipments, and reportedly armed fighters, in open violation of U.N. sanctions. Assad reciprocated by defying international sanctions on North Korea and reinforcing their bilateral coordination on a range of strategic issues. Both nations served as a critical lifeline for the other.
That alliance collapsed with Assad’s fall. North Korea lost a rare diplomatic partner; South Korea, in turn, saw a rare opportunity. Seoul moved quickly to seize the strategic opening. Determined to secure an early foothold in Syria’s reconstruction, in April South Korea dispatched then-Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul to Damascus to restore diplomatic ties in a landmark agreement with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani. The move marked a historic moment: for the first time, Seoul now maintains diplomatic relations with every United Nations member state except North Korea.
South Korea’s leadership has made clear its intention to support Syria’s recovery and encourage Korean companies to invest in reconstruction, especially following the U.S. decision to lift sanctions. Cho emphasized that Syria’s stability and prosperity are critical for peace in the Middle East and beyond, expressing hope that renewed cooperation would contribute to development and regional stability. Al-Shaibani, in turn, welcomed South Korea’s offer of development experience and humanitarian assistance and looked to Seoul’s support in sustaining sanctions relief and rebuilding the country.
Why Syria Matters
South Korea’s outreach to the transitional government serves three primary goals: further isolating North Korea, expanding Seoul’s presence in the Middle East, and shaping reconstruction around values-based development.
First, deeper bilateral ties will allow Seoul to strategically counter North Korean influence in the region. Korean security experts argue that South Korean engagement in Syria will help reverse Pyongyang’s historic foothold and sends a signal to other authoritarian partners of North Korea, including Russia and Iran. As Syria’s new leadership distances themselves from the past, Seoul’s engagement can tip the balance in South Korea’s favor.
Second, South Korea’s engagement helps counterbalance the influence of other international and regional powers, like China, Turkiye, and Iran, by helping Syrian authorities diversify their foreign relations to reduce reliance on any single bloc. While many non-Western actors emphasize rapid infrastructure development, often at the expense of good governance, South Korea may bring a more holistic model to the table.
Seoul’s own post-war recovery combined centralized planning with market-driven growth, helping the country achieve rapid industrialization, technological innovation, and human capital development. Syrian officials have expressed interest in learning from this trajectory, but replicating South Korea’s model in Syria will be a formidable challenge given the country’s fractured institutions, ongoing instability, and remaining gaps in political capacity.
Third, South Korea could play a role in Syria’s fragile security landscape. More specifically, Seoul can support critical security reform by offering technical assistance in areas like demining, border control, and infrastructure protection. This also positions South Korea as a credible regional actor, while opening up export opportunities for its growing defense industry. Arms exports from South Korea have surged nearly tenfold over the past decade, and the Middle East is a major export market.
Yet, in Syria, these efforts will be constrained until U.S. restrictions on dual-use technology exports to Syria are eased, a process tied to ensuring such items are not diverted to terrorist groups or sanctioned entities. Those safeguards are not yet in place.
Rebuilding on Fragile Ground
Syria’s reconstruction is estimated to cost some $400 billion, a bill the country is ill-equipped to shoulder. The Syrian economy has contracted by more than 85 percent since the civil war began in 2011, with poverty rates soaring to as high as 90 percent, according to U.N. estimates. Even after the transition, risks remain: the potential for renewed conflict, a battered formal economy, and ongoing skepticism from international investors.
Yet, the caretaker government under President Ahmed al-Shara’a has shown pragmatism. In its first six months, it has prioritized restoring public services, attracting international support to lift sanctions, and rebuilding institutions left hollow by the Assad government. This includes efforts to distance itself from North Korea.
One major breakthrough came with U.S. and EU sanctions relief. On May 23, 2025, the U.S. issued General License No. 25, authorizing most transactions with Syria’s new government. Days later, the European Union followed suit. These moves create the legal space for South Korea and other countries to begin engaging reconstruction and expanding investment in key Syrian sectors. But challenges remain: Syria still lacks liquidity, faces widespread humanitarian needs, and struggles to attract large-scale foreign investment.
A Narrow Window for Strategic Impact
Against this backdrop, South Korea’s engagement in Syria will not be easy. It must navigate a fractured political landscape, competing regional interests, and the enduring trauma of a long war. But this moment presents a rare opportunity for Seoul to play a stabilizing role and support a country on the brink of recovery.
The effects of sanctions relief will take time to reach ordinary Syrians. In the interim, South Korea can help fill critical gaps by supporting early recovery efforts that strengthen humanitarian response and essential services, in coordination with the United Nations and Syrian civil society. Already, Seoul has committed to providing in-kind aid, including medical devices like dialysis and X-ray machines – urgently needed across Syria’s struggling health system.
Scaling this assistance, along with technical support for public administration, healthcare, and education, can help rebuild the country’s public service sector and reinforce the legitimacy of its transitional institutions. Supporting local civil society actors – who often step in where the state previously failed – can further improve service delivery, foster trust, and reduce long-term dependency on international aid.
A well-balanced South Korea-Syria relationship must extend beyond defense exports and strategic efforts to isolate North Korea. It must also center human development. Syria’s recovery hinges on the stabilization of daily life for its citizens. This is where South Korea can win lasting credibility. Hyundai cars may already be seen on Syria’s roads, but it is other items like South Korean-provided medical equipment or demining tools that could leave the deeper, more immediate impact by improving lives well before the broader effects of sanctions relief materialize.
Still, South Korea will need to tread carefully. Engagement with a transitional government that includes actors with ties to previously sanctioned groups – such as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham – may raise concerns among multilateral partners and invite scrutiny. Anchoring support through internationally recognized mechanisms, including U.N. agencies, and working closely with vetted civil society organizations will be essential to safeguarding legitimacy and managing reputational risks.
South Korea’s non-imperial history and perceived neutrality could also work to its advantage. As Arab states and regional donors jostle for influence in post-conflict Syria, Seoul has an opportunity to position itself as a bridge connecting Western donors with regional actors, while maintaining a principled approach centered on recovery and stability.
South Korea’s Syria gamble may yield more than diplomatic symmetry. It could offer a new blueprint for how countries like South Korea engage in fragile states to bolster post-conflict recovery – and shape the future of international stabilization efforts from the ground up.