On Jindo island, where bodies recovered from the ferry are taken, descriptions of the dead are read over a loudspeaker.

"We firmly believe that this is a very serious issue and the committee should address it in an urgent and serious way," Dehghani said.

The trip - from April 23-29 - comes nearly seven months after he cancelled a visit to the region due to a government shutdown.

Russia will build a unified network of naval facilities in its Arctic territories to host advanced warships and submarines.