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Updated November 30th, 2021 at 20:27 IST

South Korea reconsiders plan to host UN peacekeeping conference amid concern over Omicron

South Korea was scheduled to host the 2021 Seoul UN Peacekeeping Ministerial on December 7-8 and the Korea-Africa forum the following days.

Reported by: Anurag Roushan
South Korea
Image: Pixabay/AP | Image:self
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Amid growing concern over the spread of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus, South Korea is reconsidering its plans to host a major international conference on UN peacekeeping and other diplomatic events slated for next month. On Tuesday, the country's foreign ministry stated that concerns about the latest variant have cast a cloud over relevant plans. The ministry was planning to schedule hosting the 2021 Seoul UN peacekeeping ministerial conference on December 7-8 and the Korea-Africa forum the following days.

"Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the government is rethinking its plans for the upcoming events in December. We will provide further information later," the foreign ministry's deputy spokesperson, Ahn Eun-ju was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency. The UN peacekeeping event was scheduled to be the country's largest in-person international conference since the pandemic. But due to a travel ban on foreign arrivals from eight African countries, the ministry was forced to reevaluate the plan to invite guests from over 100 countries. 

Seoul in talks with the UN

According to a foreign ministry official, Seoul is in talks with the United Nations on possible options. The ministry has been speaking with members of the African Union, the forum's co-organizer, on prospective revisions to the meeting, stated the official. He further added that the ministry is also regularly consulting with the local health authorities as well, reported the news agency. The new variant has been categorised as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization. 

The variant's protein spike has more than 50 mutations

It should be mentioned here that the new strain has alarmed scientists and the health community because of its complicated genetic sequence. Besides, it is also the most potent type of the SARS-CoV-2 variation found to date. The variant's protein spike has more than 50 mutations, including more than 30 on the spike protein, making it far more transmissible than the Delta version. The variant was first detected in South Africa, since then it has been found in many countries including, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Australia and the United Kingdom. 

Image: Pixabay/AP

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Published November 30th, 2021 at 20:27 IST

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