South Korea strongly denounces the recent drone attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels on an airport in Saudi Arabia and urges the militants to take part in UN-led peace talks, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

"We strongly denounce the attack by Yemen's Houthi rebel forces on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia," ministry spokesperson Choi Young-sam said in a commentary.

"We reaffirm our support for international efforts toward peace and ending the civil war in Yemen, and urge the Houthi rebels to swiftly take part in the UN-led negotiations," Choi said.  

The Saudi-led coalition said Tuesday it destroyed Houthi drones targeting the airport. The shrapnel scattered from the drone left eight people wounded and damaged a plane.

Saudi Arabia has been locked in a conflict with the Houthi rebels that now control much of Yemen, since a Saudi-led military coalition intervened to support the internationally recognized Yemeni government. (Yonhap)