The foreign ministers of South Korea and New Zealand on Friday pledged mutual support in the island nation's recovery efforts following a
devastating earthquake that left two South Koreans missing, the foreign ministry said.
In a phone conversation arranged at the request of New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan asked for New Zealand's continued interest in finding the two missing siblings and offered "maximum support" in restoring the quake-hit city of
Christchurch, the ministry said.
"Minister McCully expressed his gratitude once again for the South Korean government's words of comfort and support, and explained the situation regarding recovery work and the search for the missing," the ministry said in a statement. "In
particular, he expressed his regret and condolences over the disappearance of two South Koreans in the earthquake."
The siblings, both in their early 20s, are feared to have been inside a building that collapsed in the 6.3-magnitude quake that struck Christchurch on Feb. 22. More than 160 people were
killed in the disaster, but local police have said they expect many more bodies to be retrieved from the rubble.