Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa said on Friday that some local authorities in China were "excessive" because they were forced to quarantine immigrants from South Korea due to fears of spreading a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19).

Kang attended the Stockholm Initiative Ministerial Meeting on the Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in Berlin, Germany, and met with the media and made the statement.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in communication with the Chinese Embassy in Seoul," Kang said. "We have also refrained from responding significantly to China. We need to continue to communicate with China in order not to respond excessively." said.

"We also banned foreigners from Hubei, including Wuhan, in the early days of the Corona 19 crisis, and we do not have to interfere with measures taken by our own assessments," he said. It is hardly acceptable to ban entry to Korea because it is from Korea. ”

In particular, "We are actively responding to the situation by focusing on the first round of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said. "We are running a team that communicates with governments to refrain from unnecessary measures and explains our efforts."

He said, "We are protesting when it is determined that the government of the other country has taken excessive measures." Said.

Kang left for the 43rd UN Human Rights Council and Geneva disarmament meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the day before. He attended a ministerial meeting at the Stockholm Initiative in Berlin and held bilateral talks with Jordan and German foreign ministers.

Kang is expected to return home after meeting with foreign ministers in London on Friday.

Kang said he was aware of some of the critical views on traveling abroad as more countries restricted entry into South Korea. "I came on a business trip because of the planned diplomatic schedule. It was a great opportunity to explain and ask countries to refrain from excessive response, including restrictions on our travelers. ”

"I still explained the actions of our government at the ministerial meeting of the Stockholm Initiative today, and I think it was an opportunity to receive active cooperation from member countries."

He also said, "The day before, I met with the Secretary-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to confirm the message that I fully trust Korea's capabilities."

Kang met with Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Hussein al-Safadi, who was attending a ministerial meeting on that day, and requested reconsideration after expressing regret that he had banned and quarantined the entry of Koreans to Jordan without prior consultation.

(Yonhap News, Photo = Yonhap News)