South Korea’s government is keeping a close watch on the situation in Libya as political tensions rise in Tripoli between the current regime and rebel forces.

A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said in a news briefing that the collapse of the Gadhafi regime is only a matter of time. The official said the key lies in when a victory by the rebels becomes official and what will happen to Gadhafi.

The official said that from June, the government had been contacting the Libyan interim National Transitional Council (NTC), the main rebel organization, in preparation for an event the current Libyan regime is overthrown. The official added that South Korea had been in effect providing strategic support to the NTC by taking part in the international contact group for Libya July 15th.

In particular, South Korea’s government is known to have given their support, provided that all contracts with South Korean companies signed under Gadhafi’s rule will be upheld if the current regime is overthrown.