Tehran, Apr 13 (IANS): Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has called on South Korea to unfreeze Tehran's assets in its banks.

He made the appeal during a meeting with visiting South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun on Monday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Unfortunately, South Korea has lost its position in Iran's foreign trade and the two countries' economic and political relations, which once stood at the highest level, have declined," Qalibaf said.

"We expect South Korea's prime minister to come up with immediate and practical solutions to settle the problem of Iran's foreign exchange resources and (help) release the Islamic Republic's frozen money," he added.

On Sunday, Iran's First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said in a joint press conference with Chung that "South Korea has followed the US in implementing illegal sanctions against Iran over the past three years, which has depressed the bilateral relations",

This is the first trip to Iran by a South Korean Prime Minister in 44 years.

The Prime Minister's arrival in Tehran on Sunday came two days after Iran released a South Korean-flagged tanker seized three months ago in the Gulf for violating environmental regulations and marine pollution.