"Ten people, nine South Korean workers and one Nigerian worker, were taken hostage by a group of armed insurgents in the Ogu area in Nigeria," the official told reporters while speaking on condition of anonymity.
The workers were taken hostage at 4:50 a.m. (Nigerian time) by the insurgents after the dynamite-wielding insurgents exchanged fire with Nigerian guards, the official said.
No demands were made by the kidnappers, according to ministry officials.
The South Koreans, employees of South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., were working on a construction project to lay gas pipelines in the area, according to the ministry.
"The government is mobilizing every means to make sure they are released unharmed at the earliest date possible," the ministry official said.
This is the second time South Korean workers were taken hostage in Nigeria in less than a year.
Three other South Koreans who also worked for Daewoo Engineering and Construction were taken hostage in June last year.
They were released three days later.
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