South Korea is taking steps ensure the safety of South Korean nationals in Japan following the massive earthquake and resulting tsunami that battered the northeastern part of the island nation on Friday.

An official from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that the government has decided to send an emergency team to Japan to assess the situation in Sendai, the area that was hit the hardest.

The team will then use satellite phones to report the status of South Koreans there to the headquarters in Seoul.

In addition, Seoul is prepared to dispatch a 120-member relief team comprised of emergency rescue workers, medical staff, members of a South Korean organization for international collaboration, and Foreign Ministry employees.

Two members of the South Korean Red Cross will accompany Seoul’s emergency relief team to assess the damage, after which they will discuss the situation with Japan’s Red Cross and will make preparations to send in its own medical team.

South Korea’s Red Cross will also recruit volunteer workers and will begin raising relief funds.

Currently, there are about 130 South Korean nationals living in Miyagi Prefecture who are unaccounted for due to power outages and communications problems.

Seoul is attempting to check on the status of the some 45-hundred South Koreans in Miyagi.