Government Working-Level Delegation Departs for Iran Early on the 7th... Full Effort to Secure Release of Detained Crew Including Our Citizens

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] A South Korean-flagged oil tanker and its crew detained by Iran will be the subject of a government working delegation departing in the early hours of the 7th.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 6th, the working delegation is scheduled to depart from Incheon International Airport at 0:35 a.m. on the 7th via Qatar Airways, traveling through Doha, Qatar, en route to Tehran.

On the 5th (local time), an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that the ship detention issue is subject to legal procedures by their judicial authorities and does not require a diplomatic visit, adding that no separate visit schedule by the South Korean government has been agreed upon, drawing attention to whether the visit will materialize.

The four-member working delegation, led by the Director-General of the Africa and Middle East Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plans to assess the local detention situation in Iran and negotiate for the prompt release of the detained vessel, the "Hanguk Kemiho," and the 20 crew members, including five South Koreans.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said, "The working delegation will strive to resolve the issue locally through bilateral negotiations," adding, "We will do our utmost to ensure this matter is resolved as soon as possible by mobilizing the dispatched working delegation and all available diplomatic channels on site."

First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-geon is also scheduled to visit Iran from the 10th for a two-night, three-day trip to discuss the ship detention issue and the $7 billion worth of Iranian oil payments frozen in South Korea.

Meanwhile, the 20 crew members are currently detained at Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran. It is reported that three staff members from the South Korean Embassy in Iran have arrived at the port to check on the safety of the nationals and crew and to provide consular assistance.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.