South Korea on Sunday denounced Syria for apparently using chemical weapons on its own people, supporting a recent U.S. assessment that a nerve agent attack had been carried out by the Bashar Assad regime.

"Our government strongly condemns such brutal acts of crime," the foreign ministry here said in a statement. "Individuals in connection with the use of chemical weapons in Syria must be held accountable."

The White House earlier announced that it "assesses with high confidence" that the Syrian government carried out a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21. It cited reports and accounts by "a large body of independent sources."

The foreign ministry expressed "shock and anger" at the apparent chemical attack.

"As a responsible member of the international community and a signatory state to the Chemical Weapons Convention, we will continue to cooperate with international efforts to prevent and eliminate the use of chemical weapons," the ministry added. (Yonhap news)