Some 380 people who assisted Korean operations in Afghanistan as well as their family are set to arrive in South Korea on Thursday. 

Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon said Wednesday that Seoul has been working to move out of the country Afghan staff members who expressed a desire to flee Taliban rule, together with their spouses, parents and underage children.

He said they are currently in the process of entering Kabul airport and will arrive in Incheon International Airport sometime Thursday aboard Korean military planes.

Choi said the government decided to help them out of moral responsibility for those who worked with South Korea and given the country’s global standing as an advanced nation which upholds human rights. 

The evacuees had worked at the South Korean Embassy, a Korean hospital and vocational training center in Bagram and with a Korean rehabilitation team based in Charikar for several years.

The vice minister said the Afghans will be coming not as refugees but as "persons of special merit." Upon arrival, they will undergo quarantine procedures and move to temporary facilities, as it is determined whether they will stay in South Korea or move on to another country.