The second contingent of the Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) responding to the severe flood disaster in Nepal will conclude its mission and return home today (September 17), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The ministry stated that the schedule was set in accordance with a resolution by the Public-Private Joint Emergency Relief Committee.

The joint government response team, which was dispatched separately from the KDRT, will remain on the ground even after the return of the second KDRT contingent. It will work alongside the South Korean Embassy in Nepal to cooperate with Nepalese authorities and provide support for the families of missing South Koreans.

The joint government response team initially consists of eight personnel: three from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two from the National Fire Agency, and three from the National Police Agency. The team will be led by newly dispatched Consul Kang Yong-gu from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles.

The National Police Agency personnel will work alongside local staff at Nepal's Central Forensic Science Laboratory, which received four rapid DNA analyzers from South Korea, to assist the Nepalese government in identifying the deceased.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the response team "will continue efforts to confirm the whereabouts of our citizens who remain unaccounted for."

(Photo: Yonhap News)