We start with the sad news out of Egypt that Korea had to wake up to this morning... At least three Koreans have been killed in a suspected bomb attack on a tourist bus in Egypt's northeastern Sinai peninsula. For more details, we have our correspondent Hwang Sung-hee on the line at Seoul's foreign ministry. Sung-hee, details are still emerging but what it is thelatest we are getting? Mark, Korea's foreign ministry confirmed that four people, including three Koreans and one Egyptian bus driver, were killed... after an explosion ripped through their bus near a border crossing between Egypt and Israel on Sunday. The suspected bomb attack has also left 14 injured, and they are being treated at nearby hospitals. The bus was carrying 35 people -- 32 Korean nationals from a church in Jincheon, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, two Korean tour guides, and an Egyptian bus driver. They were waiting to cross the border to Israel after spending a night at Sinai, when a armed man -- suspected to be in his 20s -- threw a bomb at the bus. The group was reportedly on a 12-day pilgrimage that included stops to Turkey, Egypt and Israel. The Egyptian government is working on the case, so we will have more details after the investigation. The Egyptian prime minister has declared the incident as a terrorist attack, although no group has stepped forward to take responsibility. And whether the attack targeted specifically at Koreans, or at foreigners, or at tourists remain unclear. Militants in Sinai have stepped up their attacks against government forces in recent months,... after the army ousted President Mohammed Morsi last July. How is Korea's foreign ministry responding to the attack? The foreign ministry has dispatched eight officials in total from its embassies in Egypt and Israel to the site of the attack. The ministry also set up a task force team and held an emergency meeting at 1 a.m. Monday to collect details and to come up with countermeasures. A delegation from Korea will leave for Egypt later this morning. And as the injured are currently having a hard time with communication at their hospital, the embassy has asked the Egyptian government to provide translators. Meanwhile, as part of preventive measures against similar incidents from recurring, the foreign ministry has asked all Korean nationals travelling in Egypt and its four neighboring countries -- Israel, Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia -- to return as soon as possible. It has issued a special travel warning to Egypt, practically banning Korean nationals from visiting the region. Thank you, Sung-hee. That was Arirang News' Hwang Sung-hee with the latest on a suspected bomb attack in Egypt... that killed at least three Korean tourists.

• published: 17 Feb 2014
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