South Korea has announced plans to enhance its diplomatic presence with a series of new embassies across Europe, Africa, the South Pacific and South America, a move that comes as North Korea is slimming down its presence overseas presence.

A statement from South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the expansion is part of efforts to “exert global leadership and bolster our diplomatic power.”

Amid closer ties with the U.S. and Japan, and riding high on a global cultural wave, South Korea’s geopolitical profile is rising.

The nation’s diplomatic footprint is expanding with plans to establish embassies in the Marshall Islands, Armenia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Estonia and Zambia and upgrade branches and embassies in countries including Jamaica and Georgia.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said South Korea would establish an embassy in the country’s capital in the first half of 2024.

The move was driven by a desire to support South Korean companies and individuals working overseas, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said. Seoul has formal relations with 192 countries.

The Marshall Islands — which has an embassy in Seoul – is a longstanding trade partner for South Korea, with the Pacific nation exporting seafood, iron and steel and shipping material. In 2021, South Korea’s exports to the Marshall Islands totaled $45.3 million while its imports from the nation reached $41,000, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.

Earlier this year, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and President David Kabua of the Marshall Islands held a sideline summit during the Korea-Pacific Islands Summit in Seoul in May.

Fiji and Papua New Guinea have been the extent of the country’s physical diplomatic presence in the Pacific region.

But interest in Pacific nations and the region itself has ramped up amid heightened geopolitical tensions as economic giants China and the U.S. jockey for power and influence.

As for North Korea, the reclusive state is on an embassy closing spree, shuttering diplomatic missions in Hong Kong, Spain, Angola and Uganda. Most recently, North Korean officials told Nepal’s Prime Minister that they would be closing their embassy in the country and relocating it to Delhi.

The closures are believed to be a result of economic turmoil and lack of access to foreign currency, but officially, North Korea has said they are “in line with the changes in the international environment and the state external policy.”

More closures are expected.

North Korea, which deploys a variety of mechanisms in order to generate income, suffered from even more extreme isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.