South Korea’s Foreign Ministry has appointed a new special envoy to Iran who will be dispatched to Tehran shortly, Al Jazeera reports, citing the country’s official Yonhap News Agency reports.

Former ambassador to Kuwait Chung Byung-ha was named the new envoy and he will be responsible for coordinating the safe passage of South Korean vessels and citizens in the Middle East amid the war on Iran, according to Yonhap.

Chung’s appointment was announced one day after South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun held a phone conversation with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

According to Yonhap, 26 South Korea-linked vessels remain stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, which remains blocked to most shipping amid the US-Israel war on Iran.