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Local ambassador Choi Tae-ho, who withdrew Koreans from Afghanistan, told a video interview about the tense situation at the time. He said that he managed to get out with only a small bag, and that it was no different from the war scenes he had seen in movies.



The interview content was compiled by Kim A-young, a reporter.



<Reporter>



Choi Tae-ho, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Afghanistan, said he could not even talk to his family due to lack of business.



He asked for understanding about his attire and explained the tense situation of withdrawal.



[Choi Tae-ho / Ambassador to Afghanistan: The bag I can take with me is a very small 30x30x20 (cm) bag, so I couldn't bring a suit because I only put essential items in the bag. We ask for your understanding for attending in casual attire.] On the



15th at 11:30 am local time, I heard that the Taliban had entered the embassy within a 20-minute drive, and I received an emergency notice to immediately escape.



[Choi Tae-ho / Ambassador to Afghanistan: I also talked to three or four ambassadors from allied countries (who I was close with), but some of them did not answer the phone already, or most of those who spoke to me said, 'This is an urgent situation, we have to go really quickly… '.]



After destroying the confidential documents, we headed to the embassy of a friendly country and moved to Kabul Airport by US helicopter.



It was an escape after only 5 hours.



At the airport, which was in a state of paralysis, the employees were withdrawn first.



[Choi Tae-ho / Ambassador to Afghanistan: An air raid alert has sounded. The air raid alarm sounded, so I evacuated to the building next door, and all the employees who were moving to the runway evacuated to the waiting room again... . I was evacuated for about an hour.]



Ambassador Choi, who endured to the end with two staff members to take the last remaining Korean citizen, recalled the time like this.



[Choi Tae-ho / Ambassador to Afghanistan: Gunshots are still heard, and then the helicopter of a friendly country continues to hover over the airport, alerting us to the situation, like the war often seen in movies… .] As



Afghan locals blocked the runway at the military airport, Ambassador Choi managed to get on the transport plane at 4:30 am local time yesterday.



[Tae-Ho Choi / Ambassador to Afghanistan: (In the transport plane) It's just like that, it's all on the floor, almost like we were on a boat in the old days... . The priority is for Americans, so Americans rode a lot, and there were also third-country nationals like me, and some Afghans.]



Ambassador Choi will stay in Qatar with the embassy staff and continue working at the embassy in Afghanistan.



(Video editing: Yang Won)    



▶ They said that they respect women's rights... "Killing without wearing a burqa"


▶ "There is no reduction in US forces in Korea"... Focus on blocking allied anxieties