‘S.Korea preparing to evacuate 36 nationals from Ukraine’

Seoul, Feb 25 (IANS) South Korea is preparing to evacuate 36 of its 64 nationals who are still in Ukraine, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said on Friday.

“For the 36 of them who wish to leave the country, we are making full preparations to evacuate them this week,” Chung said during a meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, Yonhap news agency reported.

Chung added that evacuation efforts have been complicated by airport closures and congestion on roads, but the South Korean Embassy personnel plan to resume the operations soon.

He also said the government will join the international community’s economic sanctions campaign against Russia, including through export controls on strategic materials.

In response to Democratic Party Representative Lee Sang-min’s skepticism about whether the US can be trusted for South Korea’s national security, given its response to the Ukraine crisis, Chung rejected any comparison between South Korea and Ukraine.

“The South Korea-US alliance is not only the foundation of our foreign affairs and national security, our own defence capabilities are at a considerable level unlike Ukraine, so the people need not worry even a bit in light of the US response to the situation in Ukraine,” he said.

When asked about the possibility of US military operations in Ukraine and South Korea’s participation in them, Chung said no such plans are under consideration either here or among the relevant nations.

–IANS

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