The government will replenish major diplomatic missions abroad with doctoral-level researchers or lawyers starting next year to help them cope with various global issues, Yonhap News reported Sunday.

The agency quoted the foreign ministry as saying it will recruit 50 "senior researchers" over the next three years who will conduct research on political affairs, legislation, the economy and trade and public relations in each country and advise ambassadors. Senior researchers will be recruited locally from among those who hold doctoral degrees or a lawyer's certificate, it added.

"Our missions abroad are facing increasingly complicated global issues. In order to actively deal with them, it is essential that they take their diplomatic capabilities up a notch by supplying themselves with high-quality human resources," a foreign ministry official was quoted as saying.

The new posts will first be added to missions in major countries, including the United States, China, Japan and Russia, and the United Nations, next year, the official said.