South Korea's transport ministry said on Wednesday that it would remove the concrete embankment installed at Muan International Airport following last month's Jeju Air crash, its deadliest domestic air disaster.

Son Chang-wan was in office while works were undertaken at Muan International Airport. Last month, a plane crashed into a concrete barrier there, killing 179 people.

Seven airports will also have their runway safety areas adapted following a review of all South Korea's airports that was carried out after the crash - the deadliest in the country's history. The Jeju Air flight was bringing passengers home from Thailand after Christmas when it made an emergency landing at Muan airport and exploded after slamming into a concrete barrier at the end of the runway.

North Korea defended its right to maintain a nuclear weapons program at a United Nations disarmament conference held shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump referred to the North as a "nuclear power.

South Korea rebuked President Trump’s remarks calling North Korea a “nuclear power,” raising concern about the relationship between the two countries. “North Korea’s denuclearization remains a consistent principle upheld by the international community,