1. In a bid to operate the travel-alert system more effectively, the Foreign Ministry conducted a regular review of travel-alert levels for each country for the second half of this year, taking into account the situation in each country and recommendations by overseas diplomatic missions.

o A total of 140 regions in 89 countries have been placed under travel-alert levels.

2. After the review, the Foreign Ministry decided to place Buenos Aires and Salta in Argentina, where crimes against tourists occur frequently, under Travel-alert Level 1 (Precautious) as of December 14. The Foreign Ministry also decided to maintain the current Travel-alert Level 1 (Precautious) for Tawau and coastal areas of Sabah in Malaysia, but replace the name of this region with east coast of Sabah and island area for clearer understanding.

3. In addition, the Foreign Ministry raised the Travel-alert Level for Ouargla in Algeria and areas near the border with Libya, where terror threats are increasing after the Libya and Mali incidents, to Level 3 (Travel Restricted), and the Travel-alert Level for entire Tunisia, where security situation is increasingly unstable after the inauguration of a new interim government, to Level 2 (Highly Cautious).

4. The Foreign Ministry’s website on safe overseas travel (www.0404.go.kr) provides detailed safety information on each country. The Korean nationals are advised to check travel-alert levels and safety information on the countries they plan to visit in advance to ensure safety travel.


                    Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation