About 30 South Korean nationals have been evacuated from war-torn Sudan and are heading home in a mission codenamed "Operation Promise."

According to the presidential office on Monday, 28 South Koreans departed from the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Sunday and traveled overland to Port Sudan, a port city in the northeastern part of the country, where they boarded a South Korean C-130 military transport plane headed for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The defense ministry said on Tuesday that the evacuees transferred to a bigger KC-330 aerial tanker transport aircraft sent by the military. They will arrive at Seoul Air Base south of the capital at around 4 p.m.

The Saudi news television channel Al Arabiya aired a live broadcast of the Korean nationals arriving via the C-130 aircraft in Jeddah at 3:15 p.m.

Footage by the broadcaster showed the arrival of the aircraft, with South Korean Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Park Joon-yong and Consul General in Jeddah Han Byoung-jin present to greet the evacuees.

Saudi military officials also reportedly greeted the arrivals, presenting refreshments and roses as a welcome gift.