Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations Choi Youngsam

January 5, 2021  14:30  KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today’s briefing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that a Korean vessel which had been sailing in waters off Oman in the Strait of Hormuz moved towards Iranian waters upon the Iranian authorities’ request for examination on Monday afternoon, January 4. It is presumed that the vessel is currently at Iran's Bandar Abbas port.

Immediately after being informed of the detainment of the vessel on the afternoon of January 4, the Foreign Ministry and Korea’s diplomatic mission in Iran put into operation the overseas Koreans protection headquarters and a local task force, and held interagency emergency meetings as well as internal emergency meetings. Just a while ago, an emergency meeting chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha was held from 1:30 p.m.

In addition, the Foreign Ministry has been making various efforts for the release of the vessel and the safe return of all Korean nationals, including contacting the diplomatic authorities to check facts and ask them to resolve the situation promptly and protect Korean nationals.

The Foreign Ministry will continue to do its best to ensure the swift release of the vessel and the safe return of all Korean nationals.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha will virtually attend the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) hosted by Jordan on the evening of January 6, the first multilateral engagement this year.

The upcoming meeting will be held with the aim of finding common ground on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation issues among 16 non-nuclear weapon states in preparation for the NPT Review Conference to be held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the NPT’s entry into force.

In the meeting, Foreign Minister Kang will stress Korea’s commitment to strengthening the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime based on the NPT. She will also explain the Korean government’s efforts on the Korean Peninsula Peace Process, aimed at achieving complete denuclearization and establishing permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, and ask for active support from the international community.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)