Advance group of S. Korean peacekeeping troops to leave for Haiti

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- About 30 South Korean troops prepared to depart for Haiti Wednesday to lay the groundwork for the arrival of the country's main peacekeeping contingent on a mission to help rebuild the quake-ravaged nation, defense officials said.

The deployment of the advance unit, mostly engineers, comes a day after the South
Korean parliament approved a plan to send 240 peacekeepers to Leogane, about 40
kilometers west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, joining international efforts
to aid the Caribbean state.
Haiti was hit by a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12 that reportedly
leveled a third of its buildings and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The main contingent is scheduled to arrive there later this month.
A 1,200-ton freighter was also to leave for Haiti Wednesday, carrying equipment
and supplies for the peacekeeping unit. The ship is expected to arrive in Haiti
around March 12.
Under South Korea's dispatch plan, approved by all 173 attending legislators in
the parliament, the 240 peacekeeping troops, including 120 military engineers and
22 medics, will be stationed in Haiti until Dec. 31 this year.
The expenses, estimated at 28.7 billion won (US$25 million) will first be paid by
the South Korean government and later partially covered by the United Nations.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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