Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun visits Kathmandu to discuss search for missing Koreans due to floods in Nepal

(Kathmandu = Yonhap News) Correspondent Son Hyun-gyu = Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun visited Kathmandu on the 5th (local time) to discuss related issues with Nepalese authorities, including the search for nine Koreans who went missing due to the Nepal flood.

Minister Cho departed from Incheon International Airport on a Korean Air plane this afternoon and arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

He told Korean reporters at the airport immediately after entering the country, "I plan to have a meeting with Nepal's Minister of Foreign Affairs (Sisir Khanal) tomorrow and also meet several other Nepalese government officials."

He added, "We plan to discuss with the Nepal government not only the resolution of the (flood) situation but also a long-term cooperative relationship, including future reconstruction."

Minister Cho is expected to meet with Minister Canal and ask for support to ensure the smooth operation of the search operation to find the nine missing Koreans.

Regarding the recent situation where the Nepalese military did not allow the Korean Overseas Emergency Relief Team (KDRT) to search on foot in the mountainous area where the Koreans went missing, he emphasized, "Currently, rescue operations are limited considering various climates and terrains, and we plan to consult with the Nepalese side to enable (search) as much as possible."

Minister Cho added, “I will do my best,” and added, “I will promise to carry out rescue operations as quickly as possible to ensure that (the missing Koreans) survive somehow.”

Previously, Minister Cho had two phone calls with Minister Canal on the 27th and 31st of last month and requested an intensive search of the area where Koreans went missing.

He plans to stay in Nepal for three days until the 7th, meeting with families of missing Koreans and Korean business officials, and also encouraging KDRT currently dispatched to Nepal.

As of last month, 1,375 people have died and 5,531 people are missing in Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, which share a border due to a major flood that occurred in the upper reaches of the Himalayan mountain region on the 26th of last month.

Among the missing were nine Koreans who were constructing the Upper Trishuli (UT)-1 hydroelectric power plant in the Rasuwa region of Bagmati Province, north-central Nepal. There are six Doosan Energy employees and three Korea South-East Power employees.

On this day, the Nepal Army and KDRT joint rescue team rescued a Chinese man from a tunnel at the UT-1 hydroelectric power plant construction site.

This is the 9th survivor rescued since the establishment of KDRT in 2007. KDRT rescued eight people during the 2023 Turkiye earthquake.