Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon now attending a regional security meeting in China, will return to Seoul Tuesday, one day ahead of schedule, in the wake of the kidnapping of a Korean man in Iraq.

Ban is holding talks with the Chinese and Japanese foreign ministers on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) underway in the northeastern Chinese port city of Qingdao.

The Foreign Ministry said that Minister Ban decided to cut short his four-day visit to deal with the hostage crisis.