South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a joint situation review meeting between headquarters and overseas missions Wednesday, chaired by Yoo Byung-seok, director-general for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, to assess the situation in the Middle East and review safety measures for citizens staying in the region and for Korean ships and crews in the Strait of Hormuz.
Twelve missions in the Middle East, including the embassies in Iran and Israel, attended the meeting.
At the meeting, Yoo said tensions in the Middle East were rising again, noting that attacks on Iran and some Gulf states continued despite the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, with damage to civilian facilities also occurring. He then urged the missions to take necessary measures preemptively to ensure the safety of citizens.
The missions, responding to Yoo's request, said they were regularly checking the safety of citizens in their jurisdictions and disseminating safety notices, stressing that they would devote efforts to protecting Koreans abroad.
