Newly-appointed Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Wuhan Kang Seung-seok arrived in the capital city of Hubei province on early Thursday morning.

Kang, the former chief of the ROK Consular Office in Dalian, Liaoning province, assumed his new post as diplomats from some other countries have retreated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak.

He took the position also amid Seoul's stepped-up efforts to provide consular assistance to some 100 ROK nationals in Wuhan and its vicinity.

Kang was boarding an Asiana Airlines cargo flight carrying masks, protective clothing and other relief goods.

Entering the foreign service in 1988, Kang has served in various China-based posts, including those in Qingdao, Shandong province, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shenyang, in Liaoning province.