President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the government Wednesday to carry out a swift damage assessment and safety check in response to a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near the southwestern county of Buan early in the day, his office said.

Yoon gave the instruction upon being briefed on the quake, the strongest on the Korean Peninsula and in its surrounding waters this year, while on a state visit to Kazakhstan, according to presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung.

He also called for continually providing swift and accurate information to the public so the people do not get anxious about the possibility of an aftershock, Kim said. (Yonhap)