South Korea's FM to discuss issue of detained Koreans with Rubio

Seoul, Sep 9 (IANS) South Korea's Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington for talks expected to focus on some 300 S. Koreans detained in Georgia following a major immigration raid by US authorities, a Seoul official said Tuesday.

Cho plans to meet with his US counterpart on Tuesday (US time), as the South Korean nationals remain in custody at a detention center in Folkston after being arrested in Thursday's crackdown at a South Korean joint electric vehicle plant construction site in Bryan County, near Savannah.

Cho flew to Washington on Monday to resolve the issue, as Seoul has been preparing a chartered flight to bring the detained citizens back home this week.

"We cannot say specifically at this stage what the minister will discuss with Secretary Rubio," a ministry official said, Yonhap News Agency reported. "But what we can say is that we are primarily focused on resolving the issue of our nationals in detention and ensuring their safe return home."

Talks are also under way with Washington to arrange meetings between Cho and US officials from federal government agencies responsible for immigration policy and enforcement, such as the Department of Homeland Security, the official said.

If held, Cho is expected to request their cooperation to ensure that the detained South Koreans will be able to leave the US in the form of voluntary departure, instead of deportation, and that they will not face disadvantages in their future entries to the US.

Cho is also expected to use his meetings to discuss ways to revise the US visa policy for South Korean workers, such as creating a new work visa program or increasing visa quotas to allow smoother business operations for companies investing in the US.

Industry sources said Korean Air has arranged a Boeing 747-8i to depart for Atlanta as early as Wednesday (Seoul time) to bring the citizens home.

Of the detained people, those with foreign nationalities are also likely to board the same flight.

As for the expected departure time of the chartered flight, the government is "fine-tuning" details to allow it to leave Atlanta on Thursday (local time), the ministry official said.

--IANS

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