S. KOREANS FULLY EVACUATED FROM AFGHANISTAN

[Anchor Lead]

As the Taliban militant group took over control of Afghanistan with the US withdrawal of troops, the last remaining South Koreans – one citizen and three diplomats - safely left the country on Tuesday. Amidst a chaotic situation at the airport, even after boarding the plane, they had to wait for 12 hours. Events of the past 3 days were filled with tense moments including from the decision to temporarily close the Afghan embassy to the complete evacuation of all South Korean nationals.

[Pkg]

At around 9 pm Monday the last remaining South Korean national in Afghanistan boarded a US transport plane. It was able to take off at 9 am Tuesday. The aircraft safely landed in a nearby Middle Eastern country after a four hour flight.

[Soundbite] Choi Young-sam(Foreign Ministry spokesperson) : "A plane carrying the last Korean resident and 3 embassy members including the ambassador is confirmed to have departed, and headed to a Middle Eastern country."

The plane had to wait for 12 long hours before takeoff as thousands of Afghan people trying to flee the country crowded the airstrip. It could only depart after American troops helped take care of the situation at the airport. The last remaining South Korean in the war-torn country is known to be a self-employed person. The embassy closure and evacuation have now been completed. A foreign ministry official relayed some pressing moments where even embassy officials had to leave the country right away without stopping by their homes to pack. South Korea received US assistance in the evacuation process in accordance with an MOU the allies signed earlier this year. The Foreign Ministry said Afghan embassy affairs are being conducted at the Korean embassy in Qatar at the moment. In regards to Seoul’s future relationship with the Taliban, the ministry reiterated the principle of cooperating with countries that respect human rights and abide by international law.