Behind the Withdrawal Story from the Afghan Ambassador... "Taleban Forces Were 20 Minutes Away"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Ambassador Choi Tae-ho, who successfully escaped from Afghanistan, occupied by the Taliban, along with the last remaining Korean national, described the tense situation during the embassy evacuation in a video interview with reporters on the 18th.

Wearing a casual short-sleeved shirt, Ambassador Choi apologized for not bringing a suit, explaining that the Taliban captured Kabul at an unexpectedly rapid pace.

The embassy began to seriously sense the crisis around 11:30 a.m. on the 15th (local time). Ambassador Choi stated, "We received a report from the embassy security company that 'Taliban forces had advanced to a location 20 minutes away from the embassy,' and after finishing a meeting, an urgent notice came from allied embassies saying 'Evacuate immediately.'"

To further assess the situation, Ambassador Choi contacted diplomats from allied countries nearby, but many did not answer or conveyed that it was an 'urgent situation.' Based on this, Ambassador Choi decided to evacuate, reported to Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, and upon receiving instructions, began the withdrawal.

Following the manual, important documents inside the embassy were destroyed, and they moved by car to an allied embassy located five minutes away to evacuate. Local staff were instructed to go to safe places such as their homes.

They used a helicopter to move from the allied embassy to the airport. Ambassador Choi said, "When we arrived at Kabul airport by helicopter, many staff from other countries were already rushing in to evacuate," and added, "While assisting allied military aircraft boarding for the staff, we sent three employees to persuade the remaining Korean national to evacuate once again."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Until then, only one Korean national remained in Afghanistan, who had not evacuated despite several recommendations due to local business commitments. Even after persuasion by the staff, he replied, "I will evacuate on my own in a few days."

Considering the urgent situation, Ambassador Choi and three staff members decided to stay behind to persuade the Korean national until he evacuated, with approval from headquarters. Although the Korean national did not change his mind during the first persuasion, seeing others evacuate and further persuasion from the staff made him feel sorry and decide to evacuate.

Even after changing the Korean national’s mind, the evacuation did not proceed smoothly. Although a seat was secured for him on a military aircraft departing on the 16th, the operation was suspended as Afghan crowds occupying the civilian airport surged into the military airport. The aircraft could only take off after U.S. troops pushed back the crowds from the military runway the next day. Ambassador Choi and the remaining staff also boarded the same military aircraft to evacuate from Afghanistan.

Going forward, the duties of the Embassy in Afghanistan will be continued by the Embassy in Qatar. Ambassador Choi stated, "We will continuously monitor the local situation, closely observe the trends of regime establishment and the international community’s response, and cooperate with the international community in joint measures."

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