S. Korean army chief to visit Lebanon, U.S.

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top army officer will leave on a nine-day trip to Lebanon and the United States to visit his country's peacekeepers in the Middle East nation and discuss Seoul-Washington ties with Pentagon officials, his office said Friday.

About 360 South Korean troops are stationed in Lebanon's southern city of Tyre as
part of U.N. peacekeeping forces monitoring violence along the border with
Israel.
Army Chief of Staff Lim Choung-bin will depart Saturday for Lebanon and inspect
the South Korean troops there, presenting them with video messages from home, his
office said in a statement. He will also meet with the U.N. peacekeeping
commander in the country.
Deployed in July 2007, South Korea's Dongmyeong unit in Lebanon has performed
patrol missions and aided reconstruction efforts under the UNIFIL command set up
to rein in violence in the region.
Lim will then fly to the U.S. to visit the Department of Defense on Sunday, the
statement said. He will meet with his U.S. counterpart, George W. Casey, Jr. and
discuss ways to improve cooperation in combat training and military affairs.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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