Cuba seeks closer ties with S. Korea amid prolonged US embargo: envoy

Cuba is seeking to deepen economic ties with South Korea as it has been grappling with the economic and energy crises exacerbated by decadeslong U.S. sanctions on Havana, the Cuban ambassador to Seoul has said. Ambassador Claudio Raul Monzon Baeza made the remarks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul on Monday, ahead of next week's vote at the U.N. General Assembly on Cuba's annual resolution calling for an end to the U.S. embargo. "There has been a constant trickle of new measures and sanctions that affect both the public and private sectors," Monzon said. "This is an unprecedented offensive aimed at causing a humanitarian crisis by strangling the economy." The ambassador said intensified U.S. sanctions have had far-reaching effects on Cuba's trade, fuel supplies and public services, including healthcare. "If not the worst, it's at least one of the worst situations we've been through," he said. Cuba has submitted an annual resolution against the U.S. embargo since 1992, and this year will be no exception, with a vote scheduled for Oct. 27-28. "There is a clear and unquestiona