The South Korean foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that it was reconsidering plans to host a major international conference on UN peacekeeping and other diplomatic events in December due to the omicron variant.
The ministry was supposed to host the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial from December 7 to December 8, as well as the Korea-Africa forum the following days, but concerns about the latest variant, first reported in southern Africa, have cast a shadow over relevant plans.
“As the omicron virus has been rapidly spreading, the government is reconsidering plans for the upcoming events scheduled in December,” said Ahn Eun-ju, deputy spokesperson, during a press conference.
The United Nations peacekeeping forum was set to be the country’s largest in-person international conference since the pandemic.
Due to a travel ban on foreign arrivals from eight African countries, the ministry was forced to reconsider the plan to invite guests from over 100 countries.
“We have been consulting (with the UN) on various options,” said a foreign ministry official.
According to the official, the ministry has also been consulting with members of the African Union, the forum’s co-organizers, about potential changes to the meeting, as well as consultations with local health authorities.