S. Korea to seek parliamentary approval next month for Somali dispatch

By Kim Boram
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Defense Ministry announced Monday it
will seek parliamentary approval next month for the dispatch of a naval vessel to
combat piracy in Somali waters.
"We will submit a motion to the National Assembly before its regular session ends
in December, seeking its approval," Defense Ministry Spokesman Won Tae-jae told
reporters. "But it will take time to decide when to submit it."
The parliamentary session is scheduled to end on Dec. 8.
Won said sending a Navy vessel will take less time than an army unit, which would
need to construct facilities on land before dispatching troops.
The country's Constitution requires any troop dispatch outside its territory to
receive the National Assembly's endorsement.
Once approved, South Korea plans to send a 4,500-ton destroyer loaded with SM-2
Block IIIA missiles and other cutting-edge weaponry early next year, a senior
government official told Yonhap News Agency last week on condition of anonymity.
The ship will join international efforts to prevent piracy, which is rampant in
the waters off war-ravaged Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, cooperating with the
U.S. 5th Fleet in Oman and the French navy in Djibouti, according to the
official.
The deployment is expected to cost about 6 billion won (US$4.2 million).
On Saturday (Korean time), a Japanese freighter whose crew include five South
Koreans was hijacked by an armed group in waters off the East African country.
There were 63 reported kidnappings in the region this year alone as of the end of
September.
The U.N. Security Council approved a new resolution in October designed to step
up the fight against piracy off Somalia, calling for all states to actively
contribute to anti-piracy efforts in the region, including the dispatch of
warships and warplanes.
brk@yna.co.kr
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