The Foreign Ministry has come up with measures to secure the safety of South Koreans staying in Libya, as antigovernment protests are spreading across the North African nation.

A ministry official said Tuesday that the ministry convened an emergency meeting of related agencies on Monday and discussed such measures. The meeting also came after three South Koreans were wounded following a raid of a South Korean-run construction site by locals there.

The ministry has immediately sent South Korea’s Ambassador to Libya Jo Dae-sik, who was in Seoul for a conference, to Tripoli. The ministry will also promptly send a team of officials to Libya to implement the devised safety measures.

In a bid to secure the safety of Korean workers at construction sites, the government will pick one specific site that is regarded to be safest as a temporary shelter for Korean workers. In the event safety conditions worsen, the government will transport the workers to another area.

The government is also mulling moving Koreans residing in Libya’s eastern regions where public order is not being maintained to other areas.

The government has also restricted travel by Koreans to all parts of Libya and has advised Koreans staying in Libya to return to South Korea. The government has asked Koreans planning to visit the region to cancel or postpone travel plans.

Currently, there are some one-thousand South Koreans working at construction sites in Libya.