SEOUL-- South Korea has requested its citizens leave Afghanistan, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday, as violence worsens in the war-torn country, with the United States pushing to withdraw its troops by September.

The government has called on citizens to withdraw temporarily from Afghanistan by June 20. A small number of Korean businesspeople and embassy personnel are in the country.

"As part of a preemptive step to protect overseas citizens, we have been requesting citizens currently in Afghanistan leave the country," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

"Fortunately, there have not been any attacks targeting the Korean Embassy or South Koreans," he added.

Last month, the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization began pulling out troops from Afghanistan under a plan to complete the withdrawal by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S., despite rising violence.

Source: Yonhap News Agency