Seoul to send 200 PKO forces to Haiti

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead paras with government decision to seek dispatch of 200
peacekeeping forces to Haiti; UPDATES with additional information, minor changes)
SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will send 200 troops to Haiti as part of a
U.N. peacekeeping operation (PKO) in the Caribbean country devastated by recent
earthquakes, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
The Seoul government will dispatch a group of officials next week to study
conditions for its PKO troops in Haiti, a ministry official earlier told
reporters.
The official noted it may take weeks before the government can send troops to
Haiti, as the move requires prior approval by the National Assembly, which will
hold an extraordinary session next month.
"Considering the urgent need to restore stability in Haiti and repair the
country, the government will work to dispatch the troops as early as possible
while working closely with the National Assembly and the United Nations," the
ministry said in a press release.
Seoul's Vice Foreign Minister Chun Young-woo will travel to New York on Friday to
meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other officials from the world
body on the envisioned dispatch of South Korean PKO troops to Haiti.
Tens of thousands of people have been confirmed dead since the small Caribbean
nation was hit on Tuesday last week by a powerful earthquake of 7.0-magnitude.
It was hit again on Wednesday by a 6.1-magnitude quake.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)