South Korea's presidential office convened an emergency National Security Council working-level meeting involving diplomatic and security ministries to assess the safety of Korean nationals in the region following U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
The National Security Office said on the 28th that it evaluated the situation in Iran and the broader Middle East alongside citizen safety concerns. "We assessed the impact of the current situation on our national security and economy, while reviewing measures taken by relevant ministries and future plans," the office stated.
The security office said it would prepare countermeasures with the possibility of a prolonged situation in mind. In announcing the NSC meeting, the office also "urged all parties to make maximum efforts to ease tensions in the region."
The results of the meeting were reported to President Lee Jae-myung. The office added that relevant ministries would continue to take necessary measures going forward.
Earlier, the presidential office announced that President Lee had received a briefing on the situation and reviewed countermeasures. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a press notice, "President Lee received a report on the Iran situation and reviewed the domestic impact and related countermeasures," adding that he "instructed that the safety of Korean nationals in Iran and nearby areas be the top priority."
According to AP, Reuters and other foreign news agencies, the U.S. and Israeli governments announced on the 28th (local time) that they had begun strikes on Iran. Israel's defense minister also announced that day that the country had carried out preemptive missile strikes against Iran.