Korea vows to take all measures for release of kidnapped citizens in Egypt

Korea's foreign ministry will do all it can to secure the release of three Korean citizens kidnapped by a group of armed tribesmen in Egypt, a official source said Saturday.

"The Korean Embassy in Egypt launched an on-site emergency team to handle the issue immediately after recognizing the kidnapping and requested the country's foreign ministry and police to take all possible measures, including a quick and fair investigation, necessary to secure the safety of the kidnapped Korean nationals," a ministry source said, requesting not to be named.

Negotiations are currently underway to win the release of the four, the official said, adding they were not believed to be in any danger.

In this Wednesday, Jan. 7, 1998 file photo, the shadow of Mount Sinai stretches across the valley at the foot of the Greek Orthodox Monastery of St. Catherine in the Sinai peninsula some 240 miles southeast of Cairo, Egypt. (AP-Yonhap News)

According to the ministry, Bedouin tribesmen on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula kidnapped two South Korean tourists and their two tour guides -- one Korean and one Egyptian -- while they were traveling by bus near the Saint Catherine monastery in the south of the peninsula at 4:30 p.m. Friday (Egyptian standard time).

The exact motive of the kidnapping remains unknown but Egyptian officials were quoted as saying tribesmen often abduct foreign tourists to use in negotiations with the government over the release of imprisoned colleagues. The tourists are usually released unharmed, they added.

The Korean foreign ministry called an emergency meeting of related offices early Saturday to discuss measures to deal with the incident and to protect South Korean nationals in Egypt from further such kidnappings.

The ministry is considering raising its alert level on travel to Egypt from its current level of two to three -- just one level short of a full travel ban, officials said. (Yonhap News)