Seoul has confirmed the health and safety of the crew onboard a South Korean-flagged oil tanker that was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC) in the Persian Gulf earlier this week.

According to the Foreign Ministry on Thursday, three employees from the South Korean Embassy in Tehran conducted a consular interview with one of the five South Korean members as a representative in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

The health and safety of the five South Koreans, as well as the 15 other crew members, including eleven Myanmar nationals, two Indonesians and two Vietnamese, were confirmed.

The embassy plans to hold additional interviews with the crew, while seeking their prompt release through consultations with the Iranian regional government, the judiciary and port authority.

A government delegation led by the ministry's director-general for African and Middle Eastern affairs bureau is expected to arrive in Tehran on Thursday to negotiate the crew and tanker's safe return.