S. Korea summons Russian envoy over crimes targeting S. Koreans

South Korea's foreign ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Seoul Konstantin Vnukov Tuesday to protest recent attacks on South Koreans in Russia, local media reported.

The move, interpreted as a strong diplomatic measure, comes after a 29-year-old South Korean student in Moscow, identified only by his last name Shim, was attacked and hospitalized, hardly a month after another South Korean student in the Siberian city of Barnaul was stabbed to death by three Russians.

"Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo summoned the Russian ambassador in Seoul to call for swift investigation into the recent crimes in Russia targeting South Koreans and efforts to prevent recurrences of such incidents," a ministry official was quoted as saying by Seoul's Yonhap News Agency.

While expressing serious concern over the recent attacks, Seoul has been reluctant to call the recent crimes racially-motivated hate crimes, saying more investigations are needed.

The government is considering issuing a level one travel warning against all parts of Russia that asks visitors to take precautions, and a level two warning for Moscow and neighboring areas that asks them to refrain from traveling in the designated areas, according to Yonhap.

Source: Xinhua