Seoul and Damascus establish diplomatic ties in a historic move as both countries negotiate significant political changes and shifting international alliances.

The action has also hurt North Korea, Seoul's bitter rival, which, under the former government of now-deposed President Bashar al-Assad, considered Syria a friend. South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani formally established diplomatic relations Thursday in Damascus. Cho stated during the ceremony that South Korea was prepared to provide humanitarian relief and economic investment to aid Syria in its rehabilitation from its 13-year civil conflict.

According to a statement from South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Al-Shaibani expressed his hope that Seoul will back the lifting of the international sanctions that still apply to Damascus.

According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the official connections come at a time when both nations are going through significant political changes and mark the end of negotiations that started in February with permission from Seoul's government.

President al-Assad, whose family had controlled Syria for more than 50 years, was deposed by opposition forces in December. President al-Sharaa, who oversaw anti-Assad troops during Syria's civil war, was sworn in as the head of a transitional government on March 30. The goal of al-Sharaa's administration is to bring stability back to Syria, which is still dealing with bloody conflicts months after Assad was overthrown.

Last week, South Korea's Constitutional Court backed parliament's request to remove President Yoon Suk-yeol from office, leading to his official impeachment. When Yoon temporarily imposed martial law in December, citing infiltration by "antistate" and North Korean agents, he sparked a political crisis.

An acting president is currently in charge of South Korea, and in a June snap election, voters will select Yoon's successor. Seoul currently has diplomatic relations with all 191 UN members, including the Holy See in Rome, after Damascus joined the group. Decades of isolation came to an end last year when Seoul unexpectedly forged diplomatic ties with another North Korean ally, Cuba.