South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina exchanged celebratory messages marking the 50th anniversary Wednesday of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the presidential office said.

Both leaders shared the view that their nations have developed friendly and cooperative ties since the 1962 opening of diplomatic relations, and pledged to further deepen and strengthen them, the office said in a release.

In particular, Lee asked the Guatemalan government for continued support for about 13,000 South Koreans and some 130 Korean firms in the Central American nation, it said.

Bilateral trade volume between the two countries amounted to US$560 million last year.

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Source: Yonhap News (Oct. 24, 2012)