The Foreign Ministry is considering setting up task forces charged with restoring cultural assets that have been taken out of the country.

During a meeting with the heads of the ministry’s bureaus Monday, Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan stressed the need for a systematic approach to restore national cultural assets currently in other countries.

He instructed the bureaus to identify the status of Korean cultural properties abroad and to seek ways to have them properly restored.

As part of such an approach, the Foreign Ministry is expected to form task forces that work with the ministry’s Cultural Affairs Bureau to restore the overseas cultural assets.