The Foreign Ministry has called on South Koreans to refrain from making trips to Iraq.

The travel advisory came Saturday, a day after the government unveiled its final plan to deploy around 3,600 troops to Iraq's northern Kurdish region of Irbil beginning August.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil said in a statement that the possibility of harm being aimed at South Koreans cannot be ruled out following Seoul's official announcement of the additional troop dispatch.

He strongly advised against non-essential trips, including visits for missionary, journalistic or non-governmental activities, in particular.

The ministry has also urged South Korean nationals already in the Gulf nation to leave the country.