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Foreign Minister Park Jin (third from right) leads a joint videoconference with Korean Ambassador to Ivory Coast Kim Saeng, to review the situation in Niger and the safety of Korean nationals in the country. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) |
Three Korean nationals in West Africa's Niger, which was hit by a military-led coup d'etat on July 26, have safely departed from the country, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
The three left Niger on a flight provided by the French government and arrived in Paris at around 1:45 a.m. there.
Eleven other Korean nationals are to remain in Niger, and have not expressed the will to leave the country.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Park Jin held a joint videoconference with Korean Ambassador to Ivory Coast Kim Saeng to review the situation in Niger and the status of Korean nationals in the country. During this meeting, Park urged for all help to be provided to the three nationals who had expressed their intentions to leave Niger so that they could do so without delay. He also urged to continuously encourage the 11 other Korean nationals remaining in Niger to leave due to safety concerns.
"We expressed our gratitude to the French government for its assistance in the evacuation of our nationals," said an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On July 26, a coup d'etat occurred in Niamey, Niger, where presidential guard commander Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani declared himself the new leader of the military junta. Because of the coup, some parts of the country's borders and airports were closed and security unrest has intensified, with a number of arson attacks and looting.
