S. Korea set to leave Iraq after four years of service

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will withdraw all troops stationed in Iraq
next month, ending a four-year military presence in the Middle East nation where
it helped build nearly 70 libraries and schools as part of a multi-million-dollar
rehabilitation program, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
Over 19,000 South Korean troops have served in Iraq's northern city of Irbil
since Seoul first deployed its 3,600-strong Zaytun unit to the area in 2004.
The unit has since built seven public facilities and 16 health clinics while
laying water supply lines in some 90 different locations, according to the
ministry.
"The biggest achievement of the Zaytun unit is that it successfully helped
rebuild the city while restoring peace and security in the Kurdish-controlled
region," the ministry said in a press release.
Over 88,000 Iraqi residents received free medical services, while 25 Iraqi
children were brought to South Korea for surgery that were unavailable in their
war-torn homeland.
The troop pullout comes as Washington appears to be moving towards a drawdown of
its own troop level in Iraq and an eventual withdrawal of its military presence
in coming years.
Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said earlier that Washington has not requested
Seoul for another extension of its troop deployment in Iraq for the coming year.
Seoul had extended its deployment three times since the unit was first deployed
there four years ago.
Currently, some 520 South Korea troops are deployed in Iraq while a 130-member
air support unit, Daiman, is stationed in neighboring Kuwait. Both units will
pull out and return to South Korea before Dec. 20, the ministry spokesman said.
"The government hopes the relationship between South Korea and Iraq will continue
to improve, based on the friendship built on the activities by the Zaytun unit,"
he said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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