Spokesperson's Press Briefing (March 5, 2026)

Press Briefing

Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Affairs Park Il

March 5, 2026 14:30 KST

Good afternoon. Let me start today's briefing.

I will start out by sharing with you the measures that have been and are being taken by the government to protect the Korean nationals in the Middle East.

As of Thursday, March 5, no Korean nationals are known to have sustained damage, and those who expressed wish to evacuate are moving to safe, nearby countries, with the assistance of local diplomatic missions of Korea.

In case of Israel, 66 Koreans successfully evacuated from the country on Tuesday this week, with an additional four Koreans expressing to the local Korean Embassy their wish to do so. The Embassy will assist them to move to Egypt.

Likewise, the Embassy in Iran helped 24 Korean nationals evacuate to Turkmenistan on Tuesday and assisted another Korean in evacuating to the same country safely yesterday.

The Embassy in Bahrain has also been offering consular support to local Korean nationals, including by opening the doors of the ambassadorial residence to accommodate 20 Koreans and helping a total of 13 Koreans evacuate to Saudi Arabia on a chartered bus so far.

The Embassy in Iraq recently helped two Koreans evacuate and plans to assist three more Koreans to Turkiye.

The Embassy in Kuwait arranged a chartered bus for 13 Koreans to evacuate on to Saudi Arabia overland, and a consul at the Embassy will accompany them for their safe return to Korea.

In a bid to facilitate the return of those stranded in the United Arab Emirates and other nearby countries, the government is positively considering chartering a plane. Rapid interagency response teams will depart tonight for Dubai and Oman to support safe evacuation of Korean nationals in cooperation with local Korean diplomatic missions. The teams will respectively be led by two ambassador-level diplomats who have work experience in the Middle East and the Consular Affairs and Safety Bureau of the Foreign Ministry. They will consist of officials of the Foreign Ministry and the Korean National Police Agency.

So, that is what has been, is and will be done to protect our nationals in the Middle East, and utmost efforts will be made to ensure their safety.

Moving on, in commemoration of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun will host the 20th Iftar dinner on March 10.

Iftar is the first meal that occurs at sunset after a day of fasting every day during Ramadan, a meal during which Muslims share food with their families and neighbors and remind themselves of the meaning of "sharing" and "friendship."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has hosted an Iftar dinner since 2004 to promote a deeper understanding of values of Ramadan such as sharing and consideration as well as solidarity and tolerance.

The dinner will bring together diplomats from member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and as well as people from various sectors including political, business, academic, media and religious circles -- 180 people in total. As such, it is expected to serve as a meaningful opportunity to promote friendship and cooperation between Korea and Islamic countries.

(A question-and-answer session followed.)