“Traveling to Iraq Is Banned”

The government held a National Security Council (NSC) standing committee meeting on April 4 and decided to prohibit traveling to Iraq, considering the series of recent Korean detention incidents in Iraq.

Yoon Tae-young, a spokesman of Cheong Wa Dae, announced in a briefing after the meeting, “The government decided to induce the supplementary Korean people already staying in Iraq to take a quick shelter or retreat, while strongly recommending Koreans not to travel to Iraq,” and explained that “the government’s advice to restrain traveling to Iraq means actually a prohibition of traveling.”

Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade designated Iraq as a “special nation” and limited the entrance into Iraq by making those who hope to travel to Iraq hand in a travel report to the Immigration Bureau in the Ministry of Justice or to the embassies around Iraq.

An officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested people’s cooperation, saying, “The government has no legal right to prohibit traveling, but we hope that people who want to visit Iraq will restrain from traveling to Iraq, following the government’s advice.”

Acting President Goh Kun was told about the results of NSC meeting, and instructed, “The official residences in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan should check the present condition of Koreans who are staying there and provide the specific rule or a manual for the Korean residents, the officials, and travelers quickly.”

Jung-Hun Kim Seung-Ryun Kim jnghn@donga.com srkim@donga.com