The Korean Air charter was due to arrive in Seoul Saturday evening local time. Another Egypt Air charter flight was scheduled to fly to the central Libyan city of Sirt to evacuate up to 68 South Koreans, but officials said its departure from Cairo had been delayed by administrative problems.

As of noon Saturday 652 remained in Libya, 531 in Tripoli and other central and western regions and the rest in the east.

An estimated 1,400 South Koreans were working in the North African nation, mostly for their country's construction firms, before the violence began.