S. Korea sends fact-finding team to Haiti ahead of peacekeeping operation

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea sent a team of nine officials on a
fact-finding mission to quake-torn Haiti Friday to pick a location for its
peacekeepers to be stationed to help recovery efforts there, officials said.

Haiti was hit Jan. 12 by a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which reportedly
killed more than 150,000 people and destroyed a third of the buildings in the
capital, Port-au-Prince.
South Korea, which plans to send about 220 peacekeeping troops, is looking at
three locations in Haiti to station its forces, including Port-au-Prince and
Jacmal, a port city 50 kilometers south of the capital.
"We plan to look at the candidate locations for the stationing of our troops and
discuss details on the deployment with the key members" of the multinational
forces in Haiti, chief delegate Shin Dong-ik said.
The team, which included officials from the foreign ministry, the defense
ministry and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will return to South Korea next Thursday,
officials said.
South Korea is considering deploying its 1,400-ton helicopter carrier to
transport troops and supplies to the Caribbean state. The country has so far
pledged over US$10 million in short- and long-term relief aid to Haiti.
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